Chasing Ragnarok
by Memory of the Sky
Summary: Loki is charged with crimes against the Earth. Odin has sentenced him to serve as a guardian to a priestess named Yuru in order to 'understand the value of life'. Though a joke to him, her journey will either save or destroy him. Rated M for violence and explicit content.
1. The Punishment

**Chasing Ragnarok**  
_The Punishment_  
By: Anencephaly

His wrists were held heavy as he walked through the golden hall. Even heavier were the onlookers as he passed, following his brother's stride. They all believed him to be dead, they all despised him and once more he was nothing more but a shadow to his brother. Loki had no place here, yet Thor wanted him to return. Father, no, Odin would surely imprison him for his crimes against Earth. It wasn't long until they had arrived at the exalted throne, Odin sitting atop with mother to one side and Valkeries and guards placed securely around him.

Thor bowed to his father, "I have returned, Father. I bring you your son, my brother Loki." he rose up, standing next to Loki and carefully removed the muzzle that was placed over his mouth. The two caught one another's gaze before Loki looked away towards Odin who sat forward. He was pondering what he had to say, but it didn't take him long. "Your actions Loki are those punishable by death. You stole the Tesseract, made a pact with the Chitauri and waged war against Earth." The silence of the others within the hall was more than aggravating. Normally there would have been whispers of his crimes; they would have condemned him verbally.

None of it mattered… he had lost.

How could he have lost to the weak race of the humans? They were below his kind…

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Odin's voice was far too calm.

"The humans are a weak race…Father…" he said maliciously. "Destined to internally destroy one another, I could save all of them if you'd just let me rule them."

"The human affairs are none of our own." Odin replied. "They are better off without the interference of us and are governed by their own free will, if anyone should save them it would have to be themselves."

"Father." Loki tried to protest.

"You will have to take responsibility for your actions, Loki." Odin stopped him with a firm voice. "Your sentence shall be the guardianship of the woman Yuru a priestess from one of our temples."

Was he making a horrible joke? He could barely contain himself and burst out in a cold laughter shortly after. "Protect a Priestess? Are you kidding me?"

"This is no joking matter Loki!" Odin stood, slamming his staff down with such anger it shook the hall and caused the others to gasp in fear. "You will obey! I have long since forgiven you for your actions against myself and your brother as well as Asgard only because you are my son! But you will be taught a lesson, Yuru's life is your own life. Should you fail, it will be the very end of you!"

His voice echoed in his ears and he found himself turning his head slowly to look at his brother Thor who had lowered his head at that point. When he looked back up to Odin, a woman with dark brown hair had appeared from behind the golden veil. It was lengthy, falling just past her knees and braided near the shoulder line with silver and gold chains. She was dressed in a soft white. But she did not look the part of a priestess. She looked as if she was a Lady of the court, as if she held some sort of high ranking position. There were a couple of whispers at either side of him within the crowds, and he tried hard to listen as he watched the woman step out onto the dias and then place one foot on the first step.

Her eyes were covered by a sheer veil, strapped to a metal ornament adorned to her head. She didn't move for a while, and he couldn't tell if she had forgotten what she was doing or staring at him. Yuru… the supposed Priestess was most likely nothing more than a damsel in distress.

"Yuru?" Odin's wife had called out to her.

The woman took in a slight breath and then nodded her head assertively.

"The punishment has been decided." Odin said.

When Yuru had finished making her way down the steps of the dias, she stopped in between Loki and Thor. He could see closer now that her eyes were of a lighter color, and she closed them briefly before opening them back up again. "Hold strength, remember the world we fight for." She softly said.

Two guards joined at the back of her, one grabbing Loki by the arm. Before Yuru could move forward, Thor had grabbed her by her upper elbow and she looked up at him, un-startled. "Are you sure about this?"

She nodded to him, "I am certain." She replied. Thor released her, catching Loki's gaze as he was led away with Yuru, a few more guards following them.

Loki however had other plans. He wouldn't stick around to protect a girl who didn't have value to him. He wouldn't become a slave to a mere woman and follow her every word. What were his father's hopes for him? For this woman to change him into a better man?

"I wouldn't even consider the idea if I were you." Yuru had broken his concentration from the other side of the room. The two guards closed the doors shut behind her as she stepped in. He looked at her, trying to figure out her role in all of this. "Please, sit." Yuru directed him with an extended arm towards the large circle carved out in the floor, adorned with cushions and a large circular table low to the ground in the center.

"My confinements, my lady?" He held his arms up to show her.

Yuru stared for only a moment or two. "Only after you understand, Loki, son of Odin."

"I am not his son." Loki replied spitefully.

"You were raised by him, were you not?" Yuru was quick to reply now. "Raised, and taken care of by Odin. A son is not only defined by blood." Yuru looked back at one of the guards that stood next to the door. "You may release him." She ordered.

"I cannot possibly understand why you need me when you have guards at your command." Loki said as he rubbed his wrists and stretched them out. She moved passed him, towards the comfort of the seating area.

"It is your punishment." She stepped down into it.

That word made him want to laugh. Instead he smiled to himself, "Is there a lesson to be learned from any of this?"

Yuru had seated herself by now, and he approached the edge of the circle and watched as she released the lace from her eyes and removed the head ornament. When she opened her eyes, he could finally see the fullness of her face. Her eyes, the most distinguished part of her, were silver. They almost appeared to glow like that of a diamond. But her expression held a sort of wisdom and certainty, as if she were sure of everything and she held that confidence that Thor usually had during battle, and for some reason after seeing her entire face he hated her and was intrigued with her.

"To value life." She replied with that same calm voice. "Now please…" she extended her hand out once more. "Please sit, I am sure that you hunger."

She was right; it had been ages since he had tasted the food from his home. It was one of the many things he missed while he was gone. He was puzzled by her though, and kept his eyes on her as he sat down. He pondered how she was going to make him value life with this little game of hers. "Do you not fear me?" he asked coldly.

"No." she replied.

He didn't like the confidence and quickness of her answer. He leaned forward darkly, "Then you are a fool."

A double of him appeared sitting down next to her, causing the guards to stir as he held a knife up to her neck. "I could kill you right now."

She simply held her hand up, signaling the guards to stand down.

His origin smiled as he watched. He reached forward to pick up a goblet but was stopped by the feeling of cold steel against his neck. He breathed in a faint scent of orchids and could feel her breathe lightly against his ear. "Remember, my life is in your hands, and mine is yours."

He smiled slightly, impressed with her. "There's more to you than your pretty little eyes." His double disappeared, just as hers did.

"I am no stranger to these sort of tricks." She said. She released the knife from his neck and rose up to retake her seat.

"Then tell me, who exactly are you? I don't believe you to be just any ordinary priestess." He inquired.

She set the knife down on the table, an ornamental dagger possibly forged from the palace directly. "Well read." She replied quietly. "I am a priestess with a few extra gifts."

"And what am I guarding you from?" He asked, finally picking up that goblet waiting for him earlier and taking a sip from it.

"For now, you will be accompanying me to find something for our Father Odin."

"Ahh…" he set his goblet down. "So that is why you are being watched over. You are charged with some sort of task."

"It is imperative that I retrieve it before someone else does." Yuru replied.

"And you know what you are seeking and where it is?"

"I know not where it is." Yuru said. "In time, I will know."


	2. Servitude

**Chasing Ragnarok**  
_Servitude_  
By: Anencephaly

He watched the Priestess. He watched as she stared into nothingness, the blank expression giving no hint as to what she was thinking about. It bothered him, and he found himself unable to move to far from her without being tugged back by some sort of force against him. Odin's words had cursed him he had later found out from her, and the only way for him to move any farther from her was for her to give him permission to do so.

"Please open the door for your brother." Yuru quietly said without turning to look at him.

He furrowed his brows, his brother? There was a knock at the door and he strode across the room and Loki reached for the handle and pulled it open to find the blonde Prince standing there.

"Brother." Thor nodded. "What is wrong, you seem puzzled?"

Loki could find no explanation for what he was thinking. He shook his head and allowed Thor to enter.

Yuru turned on her knees to face Thor now.

"Yuru." Thor said pleasantly.

She seemed to have forced a smile. "You've come." She said. She looked up at Loki, "Please leave us for a moment. I give you permission to visit your city if you wish, but do not go any further."

He didn't say anything as he turned away. Please? She always asked him politely, never ordering him around which made him less inclined to kill her even though he didn't like to be regarded as her servant. He was above that. But more importantly he needed to find out just who the woman was until she had called him back. His search would have to begin at the temples.

"I've never seen Loki take such orders so quietly." Thor began sitting next to her.

Yuru looked away, waving her hand out in front of her to reveal a map of Yggdrasil. "They are not orders." Yuru replied firmly. "They are requests."

"Then he does what you ask without question?" Thor looked upon the map as well.

Yuru nodded her head. "He has missed home. Though he does not admit it, he envies you and wishes for everyone to look up to him like you. To be praised and glorified like you. His actions spawned from this jealousy…do you forgive him?"

"He is my brother… I love him so. Still he must take responsibility for what has happened and repent. But Yuru, I fear that this is dangerous."

She shook her head. "It is the right path. In the end he will choose, if not Father Odin will see to it that it is taken care of." Yuru looked back over at Thor. "The Other is looking desperately for me. He believes I am on another world still… soon it will be time for me to go. The first piece is on another world, the second on Earth."

"And then what?"

She shook her head, her brows knitting together. "It's unclear."

Down in the city he had disguised himself as a commoner. He avoided strange looks as he passed through the city, searching for the exact temple that Yuru had hailed from, only until he was directed to The Odin Temple and found an older woman to answer his questions with the aid of a few gold coins.

"Yes, actually…" she whispered as he lead her into a more private section of the temple. "The Father Odin had brought the girl here, with the orders that we take care of her. Such a fascinating little girl she was, bright…aware of everything. But very odd…"

"Odd?" Loki asked.

The matron nodded her head. "Yes…it's hard to explain. She spoke with clairvoyance as she got older. On occasion she would be visited by The Father Odin and they would often speak in private."

"Did Father Odin ever say anything to you on his visits?"

She shook her head. "He had just ordered her to be taught magic and to learn how to defend herself."

Loki looked away for a moment. "And her parents? Who were they?"

The woman shook her head, "No one is sure. There were rumors floating from temple to temple that the girl was born from a high mage and a priestess. That she was simply a common girl found on the streets by Lord Father, or that she simply was born from a woman that was close to our Lord Father. One thing is for certain though, the girl was taken from here not too many suns and moons ago by the Palace Guard. Before she left she had collapsed in a fit. She seemed afraid, as if she had seen something, a beast that had frightened her nearly to death. All she could say was 'It is coming.' and called out for The Father."

Loki nodded his head. He had found all the answers he could find here. "You've been most helpful." Loki mustered up. He felt a tugging sensation at his body and then turned to leave. It was time to go back to the palace. Yuru was calling.

When he returned, Thor was gone and Yuru was not in the main room. He could sense her though, close by. She was within the bath and this would give him the perfect opportunity to sift through her belongings with a stealthy double as he would keep her preoccupied. Loki teleported into the room, appearing next to the bath, her eyes flew open and she jumped, water flying up as she covered herself.

"Ahh… so you can be surprised." Loki said circling the bath.

He glanced down at her as she took in a few breaths to calm her nerves. Finally she smiled, and it wasn't the sort of smile she had given Thor earlier. The smile seemed genuine, she was happy about what had just happened and finally settled her back against the stone basin. "I was not expecting that." She said.

"It was my intention." That smile did not fade from her face for a while. Now he was beginning to feel unnerved.

"Did you enjoy your time in the city?"

"Pleasant." He replied. "Why are you not angered?" he settled himself next to the entrance.

"Because, I think you are afraid of me, Loki." She said and moved forward in the bath. She raised her hand out in the direction of a white robe next to him.

He looked over at it, and then at her. "And what would make you think I fear a mere woman?" He reached for it and stopped, he waited for an answer. The look on his face told her that he wouldn't obey her until she yielded to him.

Yuru however stood up, her left arm still covering her front. "Because, Loki." She grabbed his attention from looking over her body with her firm voice. "The unknown taunts you, and you play with it until you've figured it out. I have power over you, and that makes you angry." She walked forward her right hand still extended out for her robes. He picked them up, and dropped them into her hand.

Her smile was gone now, and he could tell that he had tested her patience with him. She dressed, buttoning her clothes up and then turned to look at him as if she was going to leave him with one final comment. Her eyes shifted off to the right and then back at him, "Loki." Her voice wavered.

He expected her yell at him just then. Instead she looked up at him the silvery eyes looking right through him, but he would not back down. "We leave for Jotunheim, tonight within the hour."


	3. Into Jotunheim

**Chasing Ragnarok**  
_Into Jotunheim_  
By: Anencephaly

Jotunheim, they were walking into a nest of angry hornets. Apart of him didn't trust this. Was Yuru leading him into a trap? Was her plan all along to let the frost giants rip him to shreds? He would have to tread carefully. He still didn't know what she was capable of, and she was right. He did fear the unknown in some sort of way. Maybe it was because of his most recent defeat? Regardless, it made him more careful.

As he suited up his brother entered the room, a staff that appeared to be newly forged in one of his hands. "Yuru has said that you leave tonight..."

"Something that I am not looking forward to." Loki pulled the hardened leather shoulder pauldron over his right arm and across his chest. "Have you come to wish me luck?" he said with a cocky tone.

Thor smiled. "I've actually come with a gift from Father, Mother and myself." he held up the staff and waited for Loki to take it. His brother eyed him silently and reached out for the staff. "Brother..." he grabbed Loki's attention as he examined the staff thoroughly, "I care for you, always. Know that."

"Enough to make me watch over some girl?"

"You must protect her. She chose you." Thor replied.

"Chose me?"

Thor pursed his lips and Loki could tell that he had already said too much. He looked away briefly and then back at Loki. "War is coming and whether you chose to believe it or not Yuru can help us stop it before it begins. Protect her brother."

"A war, you say?" Loki set the bottom of the staff on the floor. "I can't help but wonder over what."

"Over Earth. Over us. The ones you made an agreement with now know just how powerful the humans are, because of your actions they and we face danger."

Loki shrugged, "The Earth can clearly defend itself. Why call upon someone who could care less if they live or die?"

"You still have much to learn, Loki." Yuru had appeared behind them, startling Loki and Thor. Neither of them had detected her presence. "Are you ready?" Yuru looked towards Loki.

No, this woman wasn't even a Priestess at all. She had dressed in a light armor that looked close to that of a Valkyrie's. There was a sword strapped to her back, forged in a design he had never seen before. He looked up to Thor who was looking at him. "Good luck, Brother." Thor said reaching out for his hand. In his mind's eye he could picture the old times where he would smile with his brother and shake his hand for comfort, he was reaching forward, almost grasping Thor's hand at that moment. He pulled back, looking his brother in the eyes.

"I don't need any luck." Loki scowled.

Disappointed, Thor dropped his hand and looked towards Yuru who was now looking up at him. She shook her head. "Good luck Thor, son of Odin."

"Thank you, Yuru." Thor said.

Yuru nodded her head and then turned towards Loki. She extended her hand out to him, expecting him to take it.

"Am I to hold your hand now too?" Loki sighed heavily.

"If you feel it is necessary." Yuru replied calmly. "But we must be going; I need to take your hand so you don't get lost."

He scoffed, grabbing Yuru's hand. "This is ridi-" Loki's sentence was interrupted with a burst of light and they had disappeared from sight. In another burst of light they reappeared in the land of ice and snow.  
He dropped to his knees when they arrived, slightly dizzy and weakened. Loki stood, realizing where they were. Jotenheim.

"I apologize. My method of traveling is not similar to that of the bifrost, if you need a moment let me know." Yuru spoke more silently now.

He was fine; he stepped forward by her side. "I hope you know what you're doing."

She took in a deep breath, "I hope so too…" her voice was weary. "Do you know the way?" she looked back at him.

"The way?" Loki cocked his head to one side.

Yuru nodded her head. "Are you not from Jotenheim yourself? Did you not try to destroy it once?"

"And I could very well do it again." Loki replied.

Yuru furrowed her brows, "For what purpose? For what glory will you gain from such an act?"

"Respect." Loki answered.

Yuru turned completely towards him now. "Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be. If you desire respect, fight for something you love."

"Sermons of a foolish woman." Loki replied.

Yuru nodded, "Perhaps. But I have seen many that have fallen because they thought that being a conqueror meant being a great leader…" He looked towards her with curiosity. "Is that not what you seek, Loki? To be as valued like your brother Thor?"

"What I seek is none of your concern." Loki said and trudged forward through the snow.

She seemed slightly sad, but regardless she followed Loki. One of the cities that had been destroyed by the bifrost appeared to be abandoned. Loki looked upon his work, remembering that his father was not proud of what he had done. He remembered how his brother took up his hammer against him and how he let go and disappeared into the void beyond. The traveled deeper into the ruins, the cold sharp wind against their faces and skin. It didn't bother him much due to his heritage, but on occasion he found himself glancing back to see Yuru fall behind to warm herself or look around. Finally he stopped just before the heart of the ruins looking back at her.

Sighing heavily he trudged back to where she stood holding herself. He removed his cloak, wrapping it around her. "Loki, I didn't think you cared so much." She said.

"You're slowing us down." He retorted with a hint of anger. He glanced briefly into her eyes to find her looking up at him. The look on her face was apologetic. "Besides… the cold doesn't affect me. It will be of more use to you." He looked away quickly and then back to see her eyes widened. She grabbed him by his arm pulling him low fast and lead him behind a broken frozen wall.

"You saw something?" He dropped his voice into a whisper. Yuru nodded, raising a finger to her lips. Together they waited and listened for the sound of heavy thundering footsteps. A moment had passed and he had heard nothing, had she been driven mad by the frost? "I do not hear anything-" Yuru jumped forward, laying a hand over his mouth. He reached up to remove it but stopped briefly as he felt the presence of a few of the frost giants making their way towards them.

His mind was beginning to feel light. But he could see something past his vision through a hazy sort of darkness. Somewhere nearby he could see them approaching. Yuru dropped her hand from his mouth and poked her head out from behind the wall and then sat back down next to him. "They will pass soon. But we should hurry if we want to make it to the passage." Yuru whispered. She tapped him lightly and pointed out from the other side of the wall. "There…" Yuru said. "It can help us get to where we need to go."

"They come…" he pushed her back.

Yuru nodded, "Conceal us. We will pass behind them." She said.

"Then stay close. Else they will see you. Come." He gripped her by her wrist and they had disappeared and reappeared beyond a pile of debris. Yuru followed closely and watched with Loki as three Frost Giants crossed their path towards the other end of the city that was being slowly rebuilt. He tugged at her arm and jogged towards the opening in the ruins. At the center he could feel Yuru lag behind, was she tiring? He looked back to see her trying to keep up. But it was too late; the Giants had already caught her scent. He stopped, dropping down low shielding her within his arms.

The Giants turned to look back, looking directly back at them. Loki looked down at Yuru who was staring up into the sky with a look of fear in her face. She closed her eyes tightly and he looked back up to see the Frost Giant's turning away. He had made it just in time, and waited til they moved farther away until he pulled her back up.

They reached the entrance and did not hesitate to go in. A few feet in Loki stopped her. "What was that?" He questioned her. She shook her head, "I apologize… it was cold and I froze up."

The lie was obvious, especially to the master of liars and tricksters.

She was hiding something, and had hid it well from him until now. Though she was secretive he could tell that it was something about herself and the vision of the Frost Giant's. Where had that come from? "Well do you need rest?" He asked.

Yuru shook her head. "We must continue on. Traveling to where we need to go from here will take at least a day's time."

"And where exactly might that be?"

"Old King Laufey's vault. A piece of an artifact lies there that is essential for Odin Father to hold."

((Author's Note: "Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be." Was said by Leo Tolstoy. I have been asked before why I like to use quotes said by famous people. Because these are values I believe in. I feel that it puts a little bit of me in the story since I can't really find any better way to say it then these amazing people have. I do hope you are enjoying the story as much as I am writing it. Fear not, Yuru still has much more growth. Also a thanks to Loki's Pet for pointing out the clerical error of Jotunheim which I had originally spelled Jotenheim by mistake _.))


	4. The Seeress Yuru

**Chasing Ragnarok**  
_The Seeress Yuru_  
By: Anencephaly

The cavern's beneath the surface of Jotunheim were long and winding. But they were just as dangerous as the world above. But Yuru seemed to know where every pitfall and potential danger was as she moved him and herself through the caverns with such ease it almost made the journey boring. Somewhere though between climbing and jumping Yuru had stopped. They needed rest, and he obliged despite his eagerness to leave the Jotunheim.

He didn't remember falling asleep next to the small fire she had sparked for them. But dreams came, and he could see war between Frost Giants and Odin. He was dreaming that he was walking through icy and blood stained streets. Women were screaming for mercy as they were impaled mercilessly by ice spears and the children frozen and smashed to bits. He had enjoyed killing, but this sickened him. He hated the Frost Giants and he had hated his lineage.

Loki followed the massacre through the city. A woman with hair and eyes similar to Yuru's brought up a spear of her own against Laufey. She struck him hard across the face leaving a bloody mark. But Laufey struck back just as hard, sending her back into a statue of what appeared to be herself with a broken sword.

"You've fought bravely…but because of your arrogance your people have paid the price. Where is the child?" Laufey reached down picking her up by the collar of her shirt.

"You'll never have what you seek." The woman began to laugh. "I have seen it Laufey… the blood of your blood will destroy you right as you try to slay your greatest enemy. This is for certain."

Laufey's anger began to boil. He picked up her spear, driving it through her chest. She screamed only briefly before being dropped to the ground like a rag doll. Loki looked on as the woman lay there, her blood pooling out from her body as the Frost Giant's left the city to rot. The dream began to haze, but he continued to watch as a smaller version of the impaled woman appeared next to her body. The girl stared on in silence, her diamond eyes pooling with water. It was Yuru. Without a doubt the girl had to have been Yuru, and the dead foolish woman who didn't even beg for her own life was her mother. From the mists of the dream, a shadow was being cast upon Yuru as she wept a faint song being sung by a woman in the back of his mind.

He opened his eyes now to find himself facing Yuru who was fast asleep, a few tears rolling from her eyes down her face. He remembered when he was a boy seeing a girl cry like this before and he pitied her. He pitied what he had seen in his dream. Loki reached forward with one hand lightly touching the tear.

She grabbed his wrist however, throwing him over her with a shout. She straddled him her dagger raised just above his head. He didn't have time to react as he watched it come down; he closed his eyes tight and only heard the sound of the dagger burying itself into the ground next to his head. He opened his eyes to see Yuru breathing heavily above him. She looked exhausted, but didn't look at him once as she held the dagger tightly.

"Yuru." Loki said, finally breaking her out of her trance like state. She looked down at him, knitting her brows together. He laid there waiting for her to say something, or at least acknowledge the intensity of the situation. "Not that I am not enjoying this. But you are crushing my ribs slightly."

Yuru leaned forward, resting her other hand against the other side of his head and yanked at the dagger in the ground and stood. "I apologize. I was having a nightmare." She settled down near the fire again.  
Loki watched as she sat there taking in one last deep breath before dropping the dagger at her side. He wanted to ask her if she was dreaming about the death of her mother and people. He hesitated however, he had a clear guess now as to who Yuru really was but he had to wait til the opportune moment to confront her about it. It would be easy for her to deny it and be more careful in the future; he had to just be sure of it, and had to catch it at the right time.

They soon left their resting spot, travelling through the cavern's that seemed to get simpler the farther they traveled. It appeared that the caves at some point were slowly being carved out for ease of access. He guessed that these were probably tunnels for Frost Guard's to use in case of some sort of emergency. They reached a wall, in which Yuru turned to him. "Past this wall." She said calmly. "Do you think you can break it?" she asked.

Loki said nothing as he strode forwards. The staff had proved to be a useful tool for breaking walls before. It channeled his power with ease and even strengthened it. Light burst from the gem, causing the wall to crack.

"I don't think that-" Yuru stopped as she watched Loki move to the wall, hitting it with the butt end of the staff, a hole wide enough for the two of them to crawl through opening near the base.

He turned to her, "I didn't think it was necessary to alert our friends above." She shook her head a bit and then followed him through the hole in the wall. Inside they found themselves in a grand room covered in ice and iron. It was not as elegant as the weapon's vault back at home in the palace, but it still contained many mysterious items as well as boxes. "My oh my, what have you down here Laufey?" Loki's voice slightly echoed throughout the room.

"I would be curious to browse too, but we're here only for one thing." Yuru replied as she made her way towards the middle of the room, trying to see through the dim light.

"Is that so? Funny, I would have never expected something as low as grave robbing from a woman's whose focus only seems to be on the world." Loki used his staff to peer beneath a bit of cloth only to find brass and gold plated dinnerware beneath it.

"I am capable of selfish ambitions too. I just choose to control them." Yuru moved closer to a table only to dismiss it right away.

Loki looked at her, "You'll have to tell me all about them, because up until now you've only managed to show me the arrogant side of you."

Yuru stepped backwards, looking up towards the rises of the vault. "I'd be more than happy to get to know each other better. But lest I find this piece of the artifact we will both be captured soon."

Loki stopped what he was doing. Placing a delicate bowl of glass down on the iron table and looked upon Yuru as she looked into the nothingness as she had done many times before. "I knew you were no Priestess." His voice was dark. He approached her now, like a lion upon its prey. Her concentration was broken and she realized that he now knew. He backed her up against the wall, cornering her. Fear was spread across her face and knowing full well that he was the cause of it excited him. A cruel smile curled up upon his face as he placed his hand above her head against the wall. He had finally elicited some sort of emotion from her, finally. "I know now. I know why you are able to evade the inevitable. I know why you were able to evade me the first day I met you." She looked away from his gaze and he lifted her chin up, "You are the Seeress." He whispered "What a rare find that I have in my grasp..."

"It is why you were not to know, at least yet." Yuru replied. "I am not a tool." Her words were shaky.

He smiled a little, and leaned in and whispered into her ear. "Tell me, Seeress, do we make it out of this alive?"

Yuru looked up at him, trying to move from him and she nodded her head. "Yes…" she whispered. She closed her eyes briefly, looking up the ceiling. "But the future can always change…Loki. " Yuru grabbed his wrist; he could tell that she was experience discomfort, whether it was due to her visions or him he did not know. "Obtain the first half… it's the only way for us to live."

"Where?" He demanded.

Yuru weakened, falling against the wall. He helped her ease her fall and she pointed towards a statue of a woman. The statue that he had seen in his dream… She smiled a little, "Mother…" she whispered. He left her to rest, and turned to look towards the statue. "One half shard or Ragnarok…" He realized at once it was the broken sword that the statue of the woman carried. Ragnarok… he raised his hand, the sword flying from the statues hand into his own, and he could feel a strange aura about it. Something dangerous, but nothing strong enough that should be Ragnarok, was it because it was broken into two? "Conceal it, hurry…" Yuru's voice broke his thoughts. He created a void, dropping the piece of Ragnarok into it and turned back to Yuru who was wincing in pain where he had left her. "We should leave… they come."

"Can you walk?" Loki knelt down to her.

"There is too much to be seen at once…we are changing the future." Yuru shook her head.

"But it doesn't mean that we'll be the prisoners of Frost Giants." Loki argued back as he helped her to stand. Behind him the doors burst open and they were vulnerable. More importantly Asgard was even more vulnerable if Yuru's identity was exposed to the Frost Giant's. It would certainly give them an advantage. "Sleep." He whispered the spell in her ear, and instantly she was out.

"Stand, Asgardian." The deep growls of the Frost Giant's were directly behind him now. Yuru was safe, for now. That's all that mattered. He stood up, turning around to meet the familiar faces of those he had betrayed some time ago.

"Loki." One of them murmured. He turned raising his hands up in surrender.

"He has another with him. A woman…" the other said and then looked back towards Loki with a smile. "We've waited for this day young Prince…" the first Frost Giant chuckled with vicious delight. "Will you come quietly?"

"Do I have a choice?" Loki said cockily.

They reached for Loki's staff, taking it from him. "You'll carry the woman. I wouldn't want to burn her before our new King has had his fun."

Loki did not protest. He returned to Yuru's side, sliding a hand behind her back to conceal her own weapon which they would need later. He scooped her up with ease into his arms and was sandwiched in-between the two Frost Guard's to ensure he wouldn't try to escape or to trick them. He just hoped that Yuru would wake an opportune moment, and could see the future rather than the past while she dreamt.


	5. Remembering

**Chasing Ragnarok**  
_Remembering_  
By: Anencephaly

Loki sat uncomfortably on a brick of ice next to the ground where he had let Yuru rest. The Frost Guard's passed from time to time in front of the cell, peaking in to make sure nothing was going on and then moved on. Occasionally Loki would look down to see if Yuru would wake soon. He sat in silence, thinking of the dream, and how he was remembering bits and pieces of memories of his own. He sighed heavily, as he watched Yuru and himself run through the Palace gardens while Thor chased them. Yuru was fond of him he remembered, because he entertained her with tricks. It was one of those things that he remembered his brother being slightly jealous over which made him chuckle a bit on the inside.

But there was one particular trick that he showed Yuru that she didn't like. He remembered a little now, discovering that he could change his skin from blue and back and how Yuru's face went from curiosity to fear, and how quick she was to pick up a rock and throw it at his head.

Yes, that's where he remembered her from. His childhood.

She stirred and he glanced down briefly to see her eyes open. "Keep your head down Yuru…" Loki whispered. "I think they are waiting for you to awaken."

Yuru blinked briefly, "We were captured?" she asked.

"Unfortunately." Loki replied resting his arms on his knees. "Are you alright?"

"I think so…" she replied. "It was just too much to take in at once."

Loki looked down at her now, her eyes were moving from left to right. He wondered what she was doing, he needed answers. "What happened back in the vault?"

"The future I am focusing in on was changed. You found out earlier then you were intended to, that and trying to find the first piece of the artifact changed what I had originally seen." Yuru narrowed her eyes, "When I am forced to see so much at once, and so many vivid visions it's hard to stay focused."

Loki rubbed his fingers together, a little nervously as another guard had passed the cell. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Odin Father asked me not to." Yuru replied. "There are some who know of my existence and many that believe my race extinct."

"The Vanir." Loki replied. "It was written that the Frost Giant's under Laufey's rule had slain all of them so that Father could not have the upper hand in battle. A whole race, a whole city wiped out." Loki was replaying the dream within his mind and he looked back down at Yuru who nodded in agreement without a word.

"My people could only see into a short distance of the future. But my mother was Freyja…she lead them. She could see past the others, and gaze into many futures, including that of Ragnarok. Mother was the one who spoke the Prophecies that would come to pass. She foretold that the Frost Giant's would come for her and kill the others, yet they held ground and stayed, unable to defy their fate."

"Foolish." Loki replied. "You hold the power to see what comes at you every turn and yet you choose to embrace it."  
Yuru dug her nails into the icy floor now, ice digging under her nails. "Despite seeing the future, they wanted to try and change it. My mother didn't want to leave the others behind. She was brave, and foolish." Yuru relaxed her hand, "She had hid me well though, and by the time Father Odin had arrived, I was the only one left… I was too young then to make sense of anything I was seeing, the visions that came I could not speak about."

Loki bit into his tongue and then released a heavy sigh. "So that is why you truly fear frost giants…" he said, "and are so keen at throwing stones at the heads of boys who turn into them."

She lifted her head quickly; she was shocked at the last sentence. He could almost see a little smile at the corners of her mouth. "You remember?"

"I remember waking up in the healing room with a bloody head."

Yuru frowned, looking down. "I've always wanted to apologize." She admitted.

Loki rolled his eyes and then looked back at her. "I can understand your reluctance to be around a Frost Giant."

Yuru looked back at him, her brows furrowing. "Does…this mean I am forgiven?" she asked.

"I thought you were the Seeress? Do you have to ask such a dumb question?"

A smile merged into her frown and she laughed slightly. "I am the Seeress… not a mind reader." She sat up straight now, looking towards the bars of the cell. "Besides, I only saw glimpses of this place before you put me to sleep." Yuru tapped on the ground with her fingernail as she looked out the bars, she was scratching her fingernail into the ice quickly.

He looked down to see that she was drawing something out. "What is that, there?" he asked.

Yuru looked down at it, "Something I saw before you put me out." She replied. "But it does not make sense."

"It looks like a child's drawing. Squiggly lines, no form…"

She narrowed her eyes, and looked at him with daggers in her eyes and she could tell that he was enjoying the rise out of her, she looked away. "You're right." She admitted almost hotly and stood up. She crossed her arms, pacing back and forth. He still had many questions regarding the Vanir, regarding her and why she was hunting for the pieces of Ragnarok. But he would have to wait; he stood up and approached her stopping her in her tracks.

"It's best that we do not let them find out who you are. When they come for us, keep your head low. We have your weapon to ourselves. I hid it just before we were captured." Loki whispered. She looked up at him, slightly surprised. But before she could say anything he recognized that lost look, she was seeing again. Loki didn't have time to ask as he noticed the guards coming towards the door once more. He didn't have to tell her that they were coming; she turned on her heel to face them.

"They already know." She said quickly. "Trust me when we jump."

Jump? He couldn't understand what she meant, then again she hadn't steered them in the wrong direction yet. The frost giant's said nothing to them except ordering them from the cell. Two more joined them at their sides and they were blocked in completely. Loki wondered if he could create some sort of diversion long enough to let them escape. Their touch would not harm him, but Yuru on the other hand held the risk.

They climbed a long set of stairs, the throne room placed on a high open tower where a Frost Giant sat in place of where Laufey would have sat. At least Laufey wasn't here to extract his revenge.

"This is quite an honor." The Frost King chuckled a little, his eyes remaining on Loki and then shifted over to Yuru. "I have the traitorous scum Loki, and…the Seeress." He leaned forward, bringing his large hand to his chin, stroking it as he looked on her. "Raise your head, girl." He ordered. Yuru narrowed her eyes, and slowly raised her head as she was ordered to do so. "Ahh yes… I remember those eyes. They were the eyes of the Seeress Freyja…"

Yuru lowered her eyes. "You are not permitted to speak her name." her voice held a hint of anger.

The Frost Giant chuckled. "She did fight bravely, but in the end she failed." He bowed within his chair, "Forgive my manners, Lady Seeress. I am Zerze, King of the Frost Giants, and what might be yours?"

"A name you shall never know." Yuru looked back up at him. "It would be in your best interest to release us and allow us to be on our way."

Zerze laughed immediately, "I would be more obliged to listen, but you see…you have broken into my vault, and you have brought to me Loki. The man who killed King Laufey and destroyed most of our home, I cannot simply allow you to leave. Especially, now that I have such a precious gem to trade to the Chitauri or Odin Father."

"So you have sided with the Chitauri?" Yuru asked.

"A most rewarding alliance." Zerze replied. "They have graciously supplied our ranks with the necessary tools and weapons to rebuild our home, and to extract revenge upon Asgard and take back what is ours." He motioned to one of the guards who pushed Loki forward with a fist of ice and then molded ice around his wrists. "But first…"

The King stood, his right hand forming an ice dagger. "Do you see, Seeress?" he stepped down from his throne, footsteps heavy and foreboding. "Do you know how I intend to kill him?"

"I do see." Yuru quickly replied, stopping the giant from approaching Loki any further. "I see your death at my hands." Yuru brought her hands up and dropped to the ground, sending out a shock wave that sent a few of the Frost Guards and their King to the ground. Loki fell, the ice around his wrists breaking. He wasted no time summoning Yuru's blade to him in which he buried it in the heart of the first one that tried to subdue him.

"Stop them! Zerze shouted.

Ice shot up from the ground, surrounding Yuru in a cage like pattern. She threw out her hand fire erupting in place around the cage and jumped out, landing on her knee and rolling away from a giant's grasp. "Don't let them touch you!" Loki shouted kicking another from the blade. Multiples of him appeared around her and the throne room, each working in sync to fend off the Frost Giants.

One of them grabbed him by the arm, dragging him back. He lost concentration, a few of his doubles disappearing and leaving Yuru vulnerable once again. Shards of ice flew across the throne room, and he watched as Yuru was hit sharply in the shoulder, she screamed and hit the floor. He could feel anger course through his veins as he watched, ice shards plunged into his chest, but he turned with such fury it surprised his assailant. He drove Yuru's sword into the heart of Zerze, who was surprised to see him looking like that of a Frost Giant.  
"You…" he said before falling off of the sword.

"Loki!" Yuru shouted. He turned to see Yuru up again, the sound of more Frost Giant's coming from down the stairs. She reached up yanking the shard from her shoulder, one of her doubles helped her up and she ran toward him. "There's not much time." Yuru grabbed him by the arm racing past the throne. The giants were just behind them and they ran out onto the large ledge overlooking a deep crevasse.

"What now?" Loki looked towards her, skin returning to normal. He winced now feeling the pain of the shards buried into his chest.

Yuru looked up at him, taking the sword from his hand. She raised it up to her face, gazing through the lengthy crystal through the blade. "Sleipnir!" Yuru called out. The sword pulsated once sending out a wave of energy that crashed into the tower causing the foundations to crack. The building's top portion began to crumble and fall, sending some of the Frost Giant's over the edge by debris. Others saved themselves with ice shields.

"Jump!" Yuru shouted.

He hesitated, looking at her with disbelief. Where would she have him jump? Yuru looked away and up as the top half of the tower began to fall. She turned to him now, pushing him forward. "JUMP!" she shouted even louder. The two of them fell from the ledge, the darkness of the crevasse swallowing them whole. But the sound of echoing hooves could be heard. A glowing horse with many legs galloped down from the top of the crevasse. It caught Yuru first, and she wasted no time reaching out and up to Loki, pulling him onto the saddle. A crash above their heads signified that the tower was falling into crevasse. But Sleipnir was fast, his footsteps travelling on bricks of light as they galloped into the base of the crevasse. Darkness blanked over Loki, and he finally felt his mind slip to the pain in his chest. "Loki!" he heard Yuru shout.


	6. Prophecies

**Chasing Ragnarok**  
_Prophecies_  
By: Anencephaly

Warmth surrounded him and when he opened his eyes he could hazily see Yuru on the other side of the room, her leather pauldrons stripped off and her upper garment removed. He could see the shard of ice wedged into her shoulder, her blood coagulated around it. She reached up with both hands. She was shaky in her movements. Yuru looked up for a moment with her eyes closed, "Valhalla help me..." she whispered. Yuru gripped the shard of ice tightly pulling, he could hear her cry lowly and give one final tug before she ripped it from herself.

She touched her wound gingerly, and winced. He heard her tear fabric apart and she tied the wound up. Yuru looked up towards Loki now, his eyes barely open. "Try not to move too much." she said as she moved over to his side. Helping him roll onto his back he could tell that they were in a cave, the rocky textures being revealed by the light and shadow of the fire.

Yuru unbuckled his vest; he reached up quickly grabbing her hands, "What are you doing?"

"Do you want to leave them in there?" she touched one of the shards with her free fingers and he jerked back.

"What DO you think you're doing?"

Yuru narrowed her eyes after shaking his hands free. "Are you shy?" She looked at him intently. He hesitated after being caught off guard, "I thought so." Yuru finished. She removed his vest, though easily over the shards still embedded into his upper left chest. "The shards aren't that easy to melt." She touched one.

"It stings at most. Do your worst." Loki joked.

Yuru ordered him to sit up and he did so. He watched as she leaned forward focused in on the smaller of the shards, her fingers wrapped around the spike and she yanked quickly. It wasn't that painful, it was smaller than the others. "Your lineage saved you at least." she examined his flesh around the tiny hole.

Loki narrowed his eyes. He couldn't find any excuse to give thanks to what he was. "It was more you." Loki replied quietly as she prepared to relieve him from the second shard. "Why do you bother with someone like me?"

Yuru pulled again, this time eliciting a hiss of pain from him. "What do you mean?" Yuru asked reaching for another one as she tossed the two shards into the fire in the middle of the cave.

He stopped her again by grabbing her hand. "You know exactly what I mean." he replied almost dangerously. "You know very well what I'm capable of."

"You seek acceptance, yet you look for it in all the wrong places." Yuru replied. "Truthfully..." Yuru was hesitant with her words, "I hope that you choose to do the right thing."

"And what would that be?" He asked her, allowing her to set back to work.

"To embrace the fact that you are capable of saving lives rather than trying to rule and destroy them." Yuru's words seemed to cut deep. He hated hearing it from her for some reason. He had done many things, and seen many things to understand that life was full of destruction, death and chaos. Yet here she was someone who could see destruction everywhere she turned, even before her at this very moment.

"Does it hurt?" Loki decided to change the subject, gazing at the blood stained bandage over her shoulder and chest.

"Yes." Yuru replied pulling the largest and the final shard out of him and then reached for the cloth, tearing it. "But I will be fine." She wrapped the cloth around his chest, her eyes unmoving as she worked. He couldn't help but notice that when she was seeing she seemed sad, he wondered if it had anything to do with her, or if something in the future was bothering her.

"Yuru." He said as she finished. He sat up, flipping his hands around to reveal the first half of the sword. She looked down at it, searching for something.

"You know what it is, do you not?" she said looking up at him.

He nodded, "Why are you searching for Ragnarok?"

Yuru turned back to him on her knees, folding her hands in her lap. "Shortly after you had forgotten about me I had given a prophecy that we would come close to war with the Frost Giants again. That had come to pass. The day your brother Thor had been cast out of Asgard unto Earth I foretold the coming days of Ragnarok…Those denied victory upon Earth seek retribution, mighty heroes of Asgard and Earth shall fall and perish, the world as we know it shall all be consumed in flame and war. Ragnarok, the end of days is to come."

"The Chitauri plan to take it?" Loki asked.

"Yes," Yuru said. "Thanos plans to kill everyone within Asgard, and the heroes on Earth that defeated you." Yuru looked down at the ground. "Thanos, he is obsessed with death. He knows of my existence and seeks me out to find Ragnarok and make the prophecy come true."

"But aren't all prophecies true?" Loki asked.

"Essentially, yes." Yuru replied. "But changing what is to come is possible. I have seen it before, you are proof of that."

Loki looked at her slightly confused. "You've seen something involving me?"

Yuru nodded, "You failed in succeeding the throne." Yuru bluntly replied.

The confused look washed off his face, and replaced with annoyance. "I would have had it, if it weren't for my brother…"

"Do you really hate him so?" Yuru's eyes were full of concern as she tilted her head to one side to catch his gaze. He pursed his lips and sighed, he didn't have to answer her, and he knew that she was able to see it. She smiled a little, "Loki." Yuru said grabbing his attention. "It is up to you to say it when you are ready. But for now, we all face a greater danger."

Loki nodded, "Then no more secrets, Yuru." He demanded. "I do not like being blind while lead to the slaughter house."

Yuru's smile returned and she nodded to him without a word. She looked up towards the entrance of the cave, "They search for us…" she said. "But Sleipnir guards our hiding place."

Loki looked towards the back of him, and then around. "Speaking of such, Father let you borrow him?" Loki cocked a brow.

"Yes. He'll be able to take us to Earth. The other piece of Ragnarok is there."

"Hold on, I'd just like to point out that Earth and I are not on good terms." Loki replied. "Are you absolutely sure it is there?"

Yuru nodded, "I'm absolutely sure I see the Chitauri sneaking into Earth and stealing the last piece of Ragnarok."

"How do they know about you? The sword is legendary, yes, but not everything is fitting together."

Yuru looked down at the first piece of Ragnarok. "I don't know… not even Heimdall can see that. Something blocks his vision, perhaps mystics like you? Whatever it is, it is aiding them in searching for Ragnarok." Yuru left Loki to these thoughts as she laid herself out on the floor, looking up at the roof of the cave. "Do you remember that game you used to play with me when we were children?"

Loki looked at her while he thought about it. When it came to him he smirked, laughing to himself. "Thor was never good at it."

"I was never really good either, I'm not even good at it myself."

"Well, you have an aid. Come; let's see how well you can do after all these years. No cheating." Yuru watched as he split up into twelve, all of the doubles circling around her looking down upon her. She sat up, looking at each one of them. She got to her feet then, taking her time to look at each and every one of them which she saw no difference. Each one of them smiled back at her almost menacingly. "That's cheating, Yuru." One of the doubles said behind her.

Yuru smiled to the one before her. "I was not!" she turned to face another, "This one." She pointed towards one of the doubles. They all disappeared, except for the one standing next to him.

"Close." He said and watched Yuru smile once more. "Let's try it again. This time they'll be moving." Loki split himself up again. He moved all of his doubles around her. Some teasing her and when she finally chose she grabbed the wrong one falling forward. The real Loki caught her however, and she started to laugh, mostly at herself. "Try looking closer Yuru." Loki finally said. "I may be the master of tricks, but not all are perfect…now, again."

He practiced with her, though she could only get it right a few times. They settled into sleep after practicing a long while. He looked up towards the ceiling before he tried sleeping, thinking about the dark haired girl he had missed a chance growing up with. "Yuru…" he called out to her.

"Yes?" her voice was heavy with exhaustion and sleep.

"You said you saw yourself killing Zerze…"

"It was a lie." Yuru said and then yawned lightly. "I did it to save you."

(Author's Note: It's not too much of an exciting chapter. But building up Yuru and Loki is becoming quite a challenge. I am however enjoying writing this story more than any other story I have written thus far. Thank you everyone for the alerts and reviews.)


	7. Divide and Conquer

**Chasing Ragnarok**  
_Divide and Conquer_  
By: Anencephaly

The steeds came to a quick halt, breaking apart from the line and joining one another at each other's side Thor, the Warrior's Three and Sif found themselves looking upon empty space, all of them confused by the sight. Two more riders arrived, Heimdall and Odin who settled themselves along either side of Odin.

"I do not understand." Volstagg growled angrily, looking at the others. "Where are they?"

Thor's eyes traveled into the deepness of the space, hoping to see some sort of sign as to what they were looking for, but could not see or feel anything. "This cannot be good." Thor finally said. Sif and the Warrior's Three looked his way while Odin and Heimdall kept gazing into the space.

"What does it mean?" Sif was the first to ask.

"Yuru's visions have been compromised." Odin shifted on his horse to look at the others.

"You mean to say someone else can see?" Hogun asked, his eyes narrowed in disbelief.

Odin shook his head, "I do not know." The old father replied, looking back towards the emptiness of space. "It is likely though, but that means our enemy is one step ahead of us…"

"I fear for my brother Loki and Lady Yuru." Thor rode out before them and turned to face them. "Heimdall, can you see them?"

Heimdall finally turned his wise gaze towards the others. "They are safe, still within Jotunheim…they have recovered the first piece and plan to travel to Earth."

Thor looked back towards his father. "Then I need to hurry. I have wasted time…"

"Yes, go. Before our enemy finds them." Odin replied. "We will continue our search."

"Ride fast Thor Odinson." Heimdall added. They split up past one another, Thor riding into an open gateway while the others traveled into deeper space.

When Loki woke he found Yuru putting the remainder of the fire out. He removed the bandages to find that the wounds had healed up well over night. "Good, they have healed." Yuru was rather pleased with herself.

"And yours?" Loki pulled his vest on.

"All is well." She picked up her sword, sheathing it and then looked down towards the piece of Ragnarok. She pursed her lips and knit her brows lightly together and knelt reaching for the sword. He heard her take in an exasperated breath and turn quickly to see her head go back, her eyes closed.

Loki kicked the sword from her hand and helped her sit up properly. "What is it?" he demanded.

Yuru shook her head, "I cannot touch it." She said opening her eyes; she blinked a couple of times as she tried to re-ground herself. "I am made to look upon the end of days." Loki stood from her side and picked it up. He sheathed it within his belt and then returned to her side helping her to stand. "Thank you." Their eyes connected.

"Couldn't we destroy it?" He asked with a bit of hope in his voice. Apart of him hoping to relieve Yuru of the visions.

Yuru shook her head, "It is a great power of destruction, and will only destroy you instead…do you remember how it was broken into two?"

Loki nodded, "Two of the Vanir feared the power of Ragnarok, and in order to stop the end of days from coming they tricked Yggdrasil into breaking the sword, costing them their lives."

"The sword will only cease to exist once Ragnarok has come and gone…along with the rest of us." Yuru turned away.

"Well, let's make sure that does not happen…" Loki replied. Yuru nodded, leading him from the cave to find Odin's horse waiting outside. Yuru looked out into the distance only to hear the icy wind against her ears. She climbed the horse, taking the front and Loki situated himself behind her.

"Hold tight." Yuru said, taking his other hand and wrapping it around her waist. When she turned away he couldn't help but smile to himself a little foolishly. With a little kick Sleipnir set off fast and into the great frost wastes. Their speed picked up greatly, and before them Loki could see another crevasse leading deeper into Jotunheim. Sleipnir jumped forward, a portal opening and sucking them in. The horse disappeared causing the two to be split apart.

Loki landed on both feet, he looked around for Yuru to see her standing not too far from him, she fell backwards and he rushed over to her side. When he arrived she was on her back looking up laughing. "What is it?" Loki cocked a brow.

"Earth." Yuru sat up. "It's beautiful." She looked around; they had landed in a field of wildflowers.

"I'm so pleased you like it here." Loki replied sarcastically.

"If only I had more time to appreciate it for what it is." Yuru was honest in her responses. "But…" Yuru looked around, searching once more. "Thor had said he would be here when we arrived."

Loki looked up from her; he couldn't help but feel that was the start of something dangerous. "You see nothing?" He asked her. Yuru looked up at him; her eyes unmoving as she herself sought out that future and then shook her head. "What about the second half of Ragnarok?" Loki asked.

Yuru lowered her eyes, "The ones who sail the sky can help us find its exact location." Yuru looked up towards the clouds.

"Please tell me you are not referring to S.H.I.E.L.D?"

She stood, "I see the second piece. But I do not know this world…Thor's relations with the Avengers can aid us in our search and possibly fix what you have broken." Loki watched as she took a few steps forward. "We wait." She said. "Perhaps we have arrived earlier; perhaps your brother is late." She took a few more steps only to be stopped by Loki who had grabbed her by the upper arm.

"We'll wait." Loki said. "But the humans might be alarmed by us." She gave him a puzzled look, not quite understanding the situation. "That's better." He said, looking down at her with a pleased look. She followed his eyes to see that her Asgardian attire had gone and replaced with a human woman's dress.

"How do I look?" she asked as he released her by her arm and she held the dress out for him to see.

"Like a mortal, ready to be squashed." Loki replied sarcastically.

Yuru frowned, and it amused him. "Be kind, Loki." Yuru replied and turned on her heel walking a few feet away and sat down in a larger bed of flowers. He smiled to himself, pleased with her reaction and looked away towards the sky. He knew well that if Thor did not show up in time that S.H.I.E.L.D would certainly have set their sights on them by now and upon his discovery they would view him as a threat. Not that it was a problem to him, but Yuru would be confined as well, leaving Thanos, The Other and the Chitauri a chance to get the other piece of Ragnarok. Though, how they were able to find out about Yuru still bothered him and perhaps the two of them being together meant an even greater danger to her.

He was distracted by the sound of her lightly singing to herself, he turned back to see her picking a few flowers from where she sat. He had heard that song before, in the dream he had of the Vanir's downfall. Silently he listened, without a word to interrupt her.

_Memories within time begin to thread_

_Slipping past the gates of Valhalla_

_Even though I can see  
Time is still full of uncertainty_

_Through the darkness of these dreams_

_We can pray that Ragnarok stays away_

_Slipping through our fingers the sands of time_

_Visions of light, our hope, despite the price_


	8. Captives

**Chasing Ragnarok  
**_Captives_  
By: Anencephaly

Night had fallen on Earth and as they remained within the field of wildflowers that they had arrived at. There was still no sign of Thor, which troubled him more and more with each hour that passed. Yuru however didn't seem too worried as she picked up random earth life and studied it and walked through the fields looking at the different flowers it had to offer. He didn't follow however, only watched from afar as he sat in silence. He brandished the first half of Ragnarok, studying its otherworld design while still thinking of how the enemy had learned that it actually existed.

Somewhere in the sky though a heliplane zoomed through the air, owned and operated by S.H.I.E.L.D. Aboard was The Black Widow, Hawkeye and Captain America.

"Coming in on the signal." The pilot reported.

"Good, keep the shields up. We can't know for sure who it is." The Black Widow responded.

"It's Thor, it's got to be." Captain America replied.

Hawkeye smirked, raising his eyebrows up as he looked towards the front of the cockpit. "Yeah, well we'll see when we get there." He replied. The others decidedly remained silent as they came upon their destination. "Alright, let's take a peak." Hawkeye said dropping a single eyepiece over his right eye.

A familiar sound filled the air and Loki stood, he glanced back to find that Yuru had disappeared into the darkness. "Damn." He muttered, he knew that it would have eventually come to this. Normally he would have picked a fight, but he simply looked up towards the sky as the search lights turned on. A shot rang out, and before Loki could do anything about it a shadow crossed over his eyes and Yuru was kneeling with one hand up, light capturing the lengthy snipers bullet. Though it would have done nothing to him, this was the second time that Yuru had saved him. She stood up, picking the bullet out of the air and turned back to look at Loki. "My old friends have come to greet us."

"The shot was interrupted." Barton said without much surprise.

"Looks like there's only one way…" Captain America stood up. "Get her low, but not too low."

"Becareful out there, we don't know who she is. But if she's with Loki she's most likely dangerous."

"Something is not right." Yuru said. "We give ourselves in."

Loki smirked, "You and I both know coming quietly will earn us no merit."

"It's better than unnecessarily fighting them. We need their help, and they need us." Yuru looked back to see a shadow drop from the newly revealed heliplane. "They cannot harm us. You and I both know this."

He reluctantly agreed, and instantly held up his hands in surrender as Captain America landed, preparing to throw his shield. Yuru raised her hands up as well, signaling the final surrender. He stopped, confused. This was most likely a trick from before. They were confined immediately, and taken straight to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters where Nick Fury was the first to greet them. "Well, long time no see." Fury gazed upon Loki with his single eye.

"A pleasure to see you again too…" Loki forced a smile. "How is your monster?"

"Do not taunt them." Yuru interrupted without looking at either of them. Fury looked her way curiously.

"And just who might you be?"

Yuru looked up towards him now. "I am Yuru," she bowed politely. "of Asgard and the last of the Vanir."

Of course Vanir meant nothing to him, but he didn't deny that she was of Asgard what with her unusual eyes. He looked away from her and then back towards Loki. "How did you escape?" he went right to the point.

Loki taunted him with his smile. "They let me free." He said, "But you'll be happy to hear that I am not here to try and destroy you…I'm here because of her." He cocked his head towards Yuru.

Fury remained silent as he thought through the situation. History was telling him that their word shouldn't be trusted. "Detain them." Fury finally said. "But separately. I don't need the two scheming off and trying to crash the ship…again."

Loki and Yuru glanced at each other just a moment before they were pushed forward, guns still held to their backs even though they had no effect on either of them. Loki looked towards the night sky, if there ever was a time he needed Thor it would have been now. Something was off, and he didn't like it one bit.

Yuru remained calm as they removed her bindings, and she walked into the glass prison. She caught the eyes of a man that entered the lab just as the door was sealed. "Who is this?" He asked the security guard still looking into her eyes, and she looked back intently.

"She came in with Loki." The officer said entering an armed code. "Director Fury has asked that you look for what she's capable of before we move her."

The doctor nodded briefly before setting his glasses down on a desk.

"You are…Bruce Banner, correct?" Yuru asked.

He furrowed his brows wondering how she knew, and then he saw it within the reflection of the glass his ID badge hanging from his neck. He felt a bit embarrassed as he almost believed she could read minds or something like that. "You have good eyesight." Banner replied picking his glasses back up. "I guess it's what you get for having interesting eyes." He stepped forward, taking a seat at the computer in front of the confinement area. "I don't think I've got your name." He said looking up while he began to type.

"Yuru of Asgard." She replied.

A bright red light flashed and she looked up towards it curiously. "It's fine, I'm just scanning for your biometrics." Banner was reassuring in his tone. She watched him though curiously, she knew who he was but it was too odd seeing a man so polite and quiet that was supposed to be a monster. "Yuru," he spoke up again while looking at the computer. "That's a pretty name."

"It means 'calm'." She replied.

Banner raised his brows, "That's surprising." He whispered looking over her brain activity. It was extraordinarily off the charts. He couldn't even fully understand the amount of data he was getting.

"We mean you no harm." Yuru took a step forward from the center. "We only need your help to locate something of importance."

Banner looked back up at her. He could feel that she was sincere in her words, but it was a risk. "I'm sorry…" Banner was gentle, he watched as she turned around a little frustration in her eyes. "The man you travel with is far too dangerous; they expect the same of you." Banner stood up from his seat, ejecting a hologram into his hand. "I wish I could help you. But judging by the data…I…"

"That you've gathered you can't understand what sort of danger I pose to this ship." Yuru finished his sentence for him and turned around, "No need to worry either, Bruce Banner. Loki poses no more threat to this ship then I do." She paused, staring for a while at him. "You should answer that."

"What?" Banner furrowed his brows.

Not even a moment passed before the video com began to blink. He looked at Yuru confused and then reached over answering it. "Is something wrong Doctor?" Fury was on the other end.

"I would answer that if I knew myself." Banner replied, glancing back at Yuru.

"What's the situation?"

Banner looked down at the data, "Subject shares similar attributes to that of the people of Asgard. The brain patterns are…incredible to say the least, it's like…she's accessing something though I can't tell what…similar to that of telepathy, but not."

"A mind reader?" Fury seemed concerned at this point.

"I see the future." Yuru interrupted the two of them. "We're here for your help."

"_They won't listen to you_." Loki appeared behind her, leaning against the glass with his arms crossed. "_They view you as an immediate threat._"

Yuru lowered her eyes, she didn't want to turn around and let Banner think that she was crazy by speaking to invisible people. "_The future is clouded, something had changed…_"

"_Which brings me to my next point, the longer you stay here, I feel like you put yourself in danger. The Earth is under my brother's protection and he is not here." _He was right; even she was beginning to get a bad feeling. "_Yuru_." Loki tried to prod an answer from her by stepping out in front of her.

She quickly turned her eyes towards him, "_I do not know what to do_." She admitted.

Her brows furrowed in that instant, and she whimpered. "_Yuru!_" Loki reached out to her as her eyes widened with fear. Alarms went off within Banner's lab, alerting his attention to the computer. He reached out for her, only for her to slip through his hand and she fell back hitting the floor heavily.

To hell with protocol, Banner disengaged the locks on the door and ran inside to check on her. When he lifted her head she opened her eyes barely, they seemed to reflect some sort of rainbow light. "The future…" Yuru said. "It has changed once more…Loki…" she turned her eyes away from Banner to look up at Loki's projection. "Thor comes, I have seen it."

A loud thud could be heard above them, and Loki recognized this presence as no one other than his brother.

Thor entered the ship, immediately demanding to see his brother. When he arrived he found him in a cell. "You must release him." Thor turned to Fury.

"Are you out of your mind?" Fury argued. "He's dangerous."

Thor crossed his arms, "Has he done anything to harm you, this ship or this crew yet?"

Fury glanced back at Loki who smirked lightly nodding his head in agreement. "No, but that hasn't stopped him before from plotting something mischievous." Fury batted back.

"I speak for him then. His business here is that of Asgard's terms." Thor said a little more calmly. Fury was hesitant though, and Thor moved forward. "We don't have time to be at one another's throats right now…there is something dangerous brewing in the cosmos that threatens the balance and our existence. Has he not told you?"

"We were less inclined to listen…let him go." Fury gave the order.

"Thank you, friend." Thor smiled with a nod. When Loki was released, he looked towards Fury. "Where is Yuru?"

"This way."

__((Sorry about the alert earlier today. For some reason the final draft did not save and a previous version was uploaded! Here is the completed version.))


	9. Fighting Fate

**Chasing Ragnarok  
**_Fighting Fate_  
By: Anencephaly

The doors to the lab slid open and before him stood Thor, Fury, Loki and a few displaced guards. "Where is she?" Loki brushed past his brother eliciting a very surprised look from the God of Thunder. "She's fine." Banner said reluctantly. He eyed Loki carefully and then stepped out of the way to see Yuru sitting on a medical table, a glass of water in her hands. She looked up from the cup, not too surprised to see them standing there.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here on time, Yuru." Thor said.

Yuru shook her head, "No… it is alright, it only confirms my suspicions of the Chitauri."

"The Chitauri?" Fury jumped in. "I thought we got rid of them?" He stepped forward curious about their conversation.

"Not quite so." Loki said without looking at his former enemy. "Stark only wiped out a flagship and a percentage of the army." He looked over his shoulder to see Fury eyeing him dangerously. "What's wrong, don't trust my word?"

"Loki is correct." Yuru said, hoping to stop a war from breaking out at this very moment.

"And why should I believe you?" Fury arched his brow line.

"Because she is the Seeress." Thor crossed his arms and looked at Fury, only to realize the confused expression on Fury's face meant that he had no clue what he was speaking about. "She gives the prophecies, unavoidable events that are to come. She sees the future." Thor corrected himself.

Fury blinked a couple of times before looking back at Banner, "Doctor?" He crossed his own arms.

Banner glanced at each of their faces; there was a certain tense feeling in the room, mostly surrounding Loki. "The scan suggests such possibilities…" Banner replied. "But before you all came, she had proved to me that she sees the future." He caught Yuru staring at him, and she nodded her head a little in thanks. But Loki was staring at him as well. He looked away quickly.

"So the Chitauri plan to invade our world again? I guess they didn't get enough of an ass whooping the first time." Fury seemed annoyed.

"I will explain everything." Thor said, "But first, Yuru is the only one capable of seeing the location of the item we seek. We do not know Earth well enough to locate it ourselves and we would like to request your help in locating it. If we have this piece we are capable of tipping the balance." Thor said.

"Fine, but we're going to keep an eye on your brother. Banner…" Fury paused just before leaving the room with Thor. "Hawkeye will have your back."

"Thanks…." Banner sounded doubtful as he looked at Loki once more. "So…" he said looking at Yuru. "Where do we start?"

"To those who cannot see, I must show them with words." Yuru replied.

Banner nodded, "Then just a moment, please…" He turned and moved to the other side of the lab.

"The future changed again." Loki said quietly. "What was it?"

"What I had seen before changed to what is happening presently…" Yuru lifted her head up as she looked into the future. "There's something else…but I can't make it out." Yuru looked up towards where Banner was and he was looking at them from behind a glass. He returned with a tablet in hand and set it down next to Yuru.

"Just talk." Banner explained, "Tell us what you see. The ships computer will pick up on it and give us a location."

Yuru nodded to herself with no objections. She glanced over at Loki and then lowered her eyes to the ground and gradually closed them. She took in a deep breath, and then opened her eyes once more, her pupils constricted now and her eyes seemingly brighter. "It's dark…" Yuru said. "And cold…"

"Is there anything noteworthy around you?" Banner replied, bringing another hologram screen over.

"The stone…it is warm to the touch and there is writing on the wall I do not understand…" Yuru sighed. "No…" she closed her eyes and opened them again. "Your machines cannot see…" she looked towards the screen that Banner had left by her, and she watched as it blinked an error message. Banner pursed his lips as he thought about it for a moment.

"Well then, we'll just have to make it see." Banner replied.

"You can do that?" Yuru asked.

"With the right person, and the right tools I think we can." Banner pushed the screen away. "I'll inform Director Fury…"

A few hours had passed before steps were decided, Stark would join them soon enough to help Banner build the machine to see into Yuru's mind. He couldn't help but notice Banner's intensive interest in her; always sneaking glances at her while she peaked over the shoulder of operatives curiously. When she would engage in conversation with anyone, Loki couldn't help but notice that he was watching too.

"Brother…" Thor called from the other side of a wide empty room. Something the humans had called the 'sky deck'. Vast open windows surrounded them, and even an oval glass panel was in the center of the floor. Loki turned, looking his brother up and down.

"I was wondering when you would come to bother me." Loki said.

Thor ignored this, "I wanted to apologize for not being here when I was supposed to."

"Apologize to Yuru. She is the one who was expecting you; she is the one who was forced to witness a different future." Loki's words were cold. He looked away from Thor, who seemed taken back.

"She forgave me." Thor quietly said and turned to look out the window as well. "Father, Sif, The Warrior's Three, Heimdall and myself had arrived to the location of where the Chitauri were supposed to be…Father's plan was to take them by surprise, in hopes of eliminating some of the forces before they reached Earth."

"The way is shut." Loki replied. "The Other knows that, without the Tesseract he can't enter the realm of Earth with an entire fleet."

"There is more than one way to Earth. Ragnarok holds one of these possibilities." Thor replied. He looked back at his brother, "How was your trip into Jotunheim?"

"We had a grand welcoming party." Loki laughed at his own sarcasm. "They cheered our names as we entered their domain and stole the first piece right from under their noses." Thor even laughed, and tossed an apple up into the air. Loki caught it and examined it, "It is almost hard to believe we are here though." Loki said quietly.

"Heading towards the end of days?" Thor crunched into his apple. He nodded a little, "It is never the end, not until we give it all up and let the end take us with no fight." Thor bit into his apple once more and chewed some, swallowed and gave a halfhearted smile. "Yuru believes that we can change it, she wants to change it. The one person who can see extinction believes that we can fight fate…" he raised his brows with a definite smile now.

Loki listened as his brother spoke about Yuru's determination; he looked down at his apple. "Even though she continues to see Ragnarok, she keeps going forward…" he repeated in his own words. He admired her for it; she wanted to save everything, good and bad, the earth, the weak people in it, Asgard, The Frost Giants, and much more. "Curious…" Loki quietly said.

"What?" Thor was near finishing his apple.

"That someone like that would not use their abilities to tilt the future in their favor or to extract revenge on those that took everything from you."

"Well," Thor looked at his brother intently. "Maybe you should speak with her?" Thor punched his brother lightly in the shoulder with some sort of odd smile and then turned away. "Try not to pick any fights with The Avenger's, brother. They fight with us."

Outside the doors, Thor stood before Jane Foster. They smiled at each other, talking to one another with their eyes before she stepped forward. "Soooo…" she cutely put her hands behind her back, "How did it go?"

Thor thought about it for a moment, "Good!" he replied, "My brother's sarcasm knows no end."

"Dangerous." Jane arched a brow. Thor pulled her close as they began to walk down the hall.

"I feel he has gotten better…maybe in time you can meet him, properly."

"We'll…see." Jane sounded reluctant.

((Sorry for the lateness, I had actually re-written this chapter three times before I was at least somewhat satisfied with it and then refined it. I feel better now that I've gotten over this hump of a writer's block))


	10. Difficult Secrets

**Chasing Ragnarok  
**_Difficult Secrets_  
By: Anencephaly

Loki decided to take his brothers advice for once. He doubted, he didn't think that it was possible for them to change the future when they were destined to fail. He held the apple tightly in his hand, and made it into the hall where her room was located. He stopped short in his tracks to see Banner teetering back and forth and then finally moving forward towards Yuru's room. He followed quietly moving in close enough to see and listen in.

"Are you comfortable?" Banner asked, "It's nothing like your home I bet."

Yuru looked up from where she was sitting, "No... Not really. But it is comforting."

Banner crossed his arms, stepping into the room and reaching over to the desk. He picked up her sword, examining the fine edgy blade and she watched him with interest. "It's so strange growing up with stories of gods and goddesses, swords and knights. Yet here you are before us... In a reality that can't really be explained but its real." he looked down at Yuru and offered a kind smile.

She smiled back but it wasnt a real smile. "As we grew up with stories of Earth. Except you were always there, as real as can be..."

"Did you grow up with stories of mistakes and accidents that turned us into something not-so-human?" Banner asked.

Loki realized his purpose for visiting her in private instantly; he liked this and decided to continue listening. "Yes, in ways... That is why you have come, correct?"

Banner paused for a moment, "I hardly know you and feel a little embarrassed for coming to you... But I'm curious, and I shouldn't be... But I can't help but wonder...?"

Yuru's smile had faded and she seemed sad in a way. "Would you be willing to hear what I have to say?" she said quietly.

"Yes." Banner did not hesitate.

"To be unable to know what comes is a blessing. I live within what is to come, and sometimes..." Yuru sounded even sadder, "Sometimes I do not get to experience the excitement of not knowing. The rush of being surprised... " Yuru looked up towards Banner, "So you see, I envy you. I envy everyone around me. Thus, I think that you should embrace everything you have now, and everything to come. I can leave you with this...things happen for a definite purpose, and things don't happen for a reason. You decide your fate; don't count on an intended future, for it is possible to change depending only on you."

Banner didn't say anything as he looked at her and to Loki's surprise he nodded. "I don't think I've ever felt more pleased about a rejection." He admitted. "No...I mean it, your answer was truly thoughtful and I appreciated that..." He took in a deep breath and then let it out quickly. "Thank you, Yuru...but don't undercut your own gifts as well."

Yuru smiled faintly, nodding her head. But Loki could tell by that look that she felt otherwise still. Banner dismissed himself and left, noticing Loki to the right of him. He paused for a moment and said nothing and continued on his way. Loki stepped to the doorway, knocking lightly and she looked up at him. "You didn't tell him?" Loki stayed at the doorway.

"He never wanted to know in the first place." Yuru quietly said. "Were you were listening in on the entire conversation?"

"Maybe." Loki felt like he couldn't underhand her trust, even if she possibly already knew. "Here..." he tossed the apple to her and she caught it with both hands, "Some human sustenance."

Yuru looked at it, "It smells and looks like Fruit of the Tier..." she said.

"It probably won't taste the same." Loki said.

"You haven't tried it?" Yuru looked at him. He didn't have to say anything; his look alone told her that he held no interest in anything human. She picked up her dagger from the bedside table and cut it into two with ease and then stood bringing a half to him. "It's not going to kill us." Yuru said as he looked at it with a blank expression. He sighed a little, he didn't like the disappointed look on her face and finally took the half an apple from her hand. They took a bite together, and surprisingly the taste was very different from that of Asgard's Fruit of the Tier. He took another bite before Yuru and found himself thinking of Thor and how he devoured the apple in near record time. He couldn't blame him, it was delicious.

But the look on Yuru's face made him stop. She had a smile, but a mixture of disbelief and uncertainty washed up on her face. Finally she laughed a little, "No worries Loki, your secret is safe with me." She teased.

"It's not that good…" he lied. "But I'll finish it, since you've made me eat it in the first place." He began towards his last few bites. Yuru laughed a little more, knowing full well that he was bluffing. They finished and washed their hands of the tarty sugary fruit juices.

"I am proud of you." Yuru said as she dried her hands.

"That I ate a piece of fruit?" he arched a brow.

"That you expanded your mind." Yuru replied. She smiled a little at him, "We can learn much from them." She tried to move past him but they entered the doorway together, and she nearly tripped over him but he reached an arm out, holding her steady.

Yuru looked up at him quickly, their eyes locking. Loki leaned in forward slightly, not saying anything and he could feel her resisting his grip slightly, her cream skin beginning to flush. "You're standing on my foot." He quietly said. Her face flushed even more when she pushed away from him, begging his apology. He watched as she distanced herself from him. "Come now Yuru, I won't taunt you about being clumsy…forever."

She forced a laugh turning back to look at him, she glanced at the screen displaying the time and then back at him. "You are going to have to try harder than that…come, Nick Fury expects me. We may yet have the answers to our problems."

When they arrived at the modified lab for the experiment, Thor joined Loki's side. He furrowed his brows and glanced at Loki for a moment. "Brother?"

"What?" Loki looked over.

Thor's brows rose further above his eyes with a smile. "Just the odd sort of look on your face just now…you are riddled with something."

Loki arched a brow at Thor. He had no idea where his brother was getting these ideas from and what he was playing at. He could only concentrate on what Yuru and Banner had discussed and how Yuru viewed her gifts of sight as a curse. That was why she remained within herself, within her own thoughts and that was why she was truly sad. "Yuru is distant from everyone." He finally said.

Thor shot him an odd look as Loki looked on past the glass at Yuru who spoke with the lab attendants. He smiled a little and placed his hands behind his back, a part of him wanted to tease Loki with these fresh feelings and concerns of Yuru, but he decided not to. Maybe it would ultimately change him?

"Alright…" there came a familiar obnoxious yet steady voice from behind them. "What sort of whatcha-ma-chalits have you got for me today?" They turned to see Stark pull off his glasses, eye Loki up and down and then nod to Thor. "Nice to see you again…what was your name?" Tony reached out his hand to shake Loki's but stopped himself, "Weren't you that guy that tried to take over the Earth and got your ass kicked by The Avengers? Ahh yes, Loki… that was it."

Loki forced a smile, "And you, Stark. Have the bruises on your ego healed yet?"

Stark pursed his lips and then turned away, "Probably faster than your body did when The Hulk…well…smashed…" He moved forward, "Hold." He stopped turning to look back at Banner who sat behind a desk working, "You never said anything about her being beautiful."

"I didn't think it was important." Banner stopped in his work.

"It's not important, so quit wasting time." Loki hissed.

Stark looked back, arching a brow at Thor who simply shook his head in disapproval. Stark took this as his que to really get under his skin. "Are you kidding me?" He asked. "Of course it's important, how often do you get to meet a cute woman from another dimension that can tell you your future? Oh yeah, I just remembered, not often…excuse me, I think I need to go introduce myself. If I'm lucky maybe I can score dinner."

"Should I notify Pepper of your dinner date?" Banner tossed him a piece of holographic information.

Stark caught it, pursing his lips and glanced at an already lit Loki and then Banner. "You know…I never interrupt you when you're trying to have a bit of fun." Stark sighed.

"Just trying to keep the peace…" Banner replied.

"Fine, I get it. I can't kill something that's already dead…" and he moved past it and entered the room, Banner following while Thor, Loki and a recently joined Nick Fury and Captain America remained past the glass walls. "Hi…" Stark browsed through the data handed to him earlier.

"Hello." Yuru looked at him with uncertainty.

"For someone who can see the future you look confused as to who I am." Stark threw the data into the air and it expanded out before them. "But has anyone told you that you're cute?" he glanced up at Loki who watched intently.  
"No, not even jeeper cree-"

"You won't be able to use what you have now to look through my visions…" Yuru broke his roll.

Stark frowned, "Can no one let me have just a little fun?" He sighed and crossed his arms looking at the panels of information. "But you're right though. It will take me a few days to complete. You see…" he brought over a panel displaying information about her. "When you access the future, you're pulling energy at the same time…that just now…" he pointed towards a spike in the line chart, "Was you interrupting me from having my fun." He tossed the data back into the air.

"I think someone has a little secret here…" Stark circled the room, at Yuru with interest.  
Banner watched, he knew that Stark had purpose to everything he said and did but he liked to exploit weaknesses. "Tony." Banner calmly said trying to stop him.

"I'm not finished." Stark looked up at Banner and then back down at Yuru. "I like secrets…what's even more fun is when they're gone through great lengths to be kept from everyone else. Care to sha-"

Yuru seemed annoyed at this point. "You search for pointless ideas."

"Watch this Banner, the graph is slowly spiking…isn't that just interesting? I wonder if that's really her anger getting the best of her, what do you think?" he knelt down at Yuru's side, looking up at her.

"You're putting yourself and him in a dangerous position. You do know that, right?" He whispered.

Yuru looked down upon him; he could tell that she despised him in a way. "You are no foolish man." Yuru leaned in. "But you do not know what you're talking about." She whispered back.

Stark looked up at her, he breathed deeply in through his nostrils and then exhaled. "Of course I don't." he finally said, unable to get what he wanted out of her. He stood up, "Yes, of course I'll have dinner with you!" Stark announced.

She sighed heavily and stood up from her seat and left without a word. Stark felt neither victorious nor defeated, but his ambition for the truth still remained.


	11. Keeping Her Safe

**Chasing Ragnarok  
**_Keeping Her Safe_  
By: Anencephaly

Loki took to exploring the ship he had nothing else better to do with this newfound free time. For the past couple of days Yuru was usually nowhere to be found, and would appear at random whenever Stark needed her for tests or when he would catch her passing through the corridors. In a way it almost felt a little lonely without her, which was odd considering he had preferred to be alone. But during this time by himself he wasn't thinking of taking over the ship, or plotting against Earth or All-Father. Yuru was always on his mind. She was like some sort of viral infection he couldn't get rid of. He was worried for her safety, and concerned for her future. But the most trivial thing to him had been why he felt this way. As he mulled over these thoughts he could only feel frustrated him, something he never liked feeling. But the feeling washed away the moment he looked up to see Yuru walking his way, and then grew again almost instantly when she got closer.

Yuru stopped just before Loki and looked up at him.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"Avoiding Stark." Yuru replied.

Loki chuckled to himself when he heard this, he smiled raising a brow as he looked down at her, "Making friends?"

"This is one friend I could do without." Yuru admitted quietly.

"You're not the only one that feels this way." Loki replied. Yuru smiled to herself and then quickly looked towards the ground, he noticed. "Has anything changed yet?"

She shook her head, "I have been thinking on it a lot." Yuru admitted. "What could be possibly predicting or even seeing the future as well? Though it's impossible, I think it has to be Vanir."

"They're all gone, even All-Father's doorman has confirmed this." Loki dismissed the idea.

Yuru shook her head, "But Heimdall doesn't see all, especially to those who are capable of blinding him from their trail. The Chitauri, You, Myself...so what if some survived? Like the ones who left home?"

"But maybe there is another like Heimdall?" Loki didn't want to build her hopes up.

"No, because they were long gone by the time All-Father had arrived, where I told him to be. So someone else besides me could see it within the appropriate amount of time ." Yuru sounded sure of it. "I have to know." Yuru.

"And just how do you propose to do that? Waltz up to their mother ship, knock on their door and ask them if they have one of your own in there? They are looking for you Yuru, you cant-" before he could finished there was a loud crash directly to the left of them and the ship had tilted drastically causing everything to crash and fall into the opposing walls. Quickly, Loki reached out grabbing Yuru close and taking the fall against the other end of the hall for her.

The alarms went off and they could hear shouting down either end of the hall as the ship slowly returned to its balance. His mind racing he could only think about the Chitauri being here at this very moment. Loki looked down at her, and when she looked up her eyes were wide. "Yuru?" he placed his hands on her shoulders and separated her a bit from him, "What is it, what are you seeing?"

"I can't..." Yuru quietly said. She shook her head; she turned her head down a bit and closed her eyes. "Believe Thor would do something so irresponsible." she quietly said and then looked up at Loki.

"It isn't the Chitauri then?" Loki asked.

Yuru shook her head, "Thor admits to Nick Fury that he was responsible for tipping the ship." she returned her gaze to Loki. She gave him a disappointed look; "Foolish." shook her head.

"That should be his real name." Loki said, releasing Yuru who took a few steps forward to allow her face to stop burning and flush. She could hear men rushing through one of the halls and interestingly enough Thor was closer then she had thought. "Yuru." Loki called her from behind.

She turned her head slightly in his direction, still not ready to face him, "Yes?" she replied.

He approached her from behind. "I can understand your desire to know the truth. But you cannot seek them out, doing so will condemn your life, it will condemn us all." He placed his hand gently just below her right shoulder to feel the smoothness of her creamy skin. "Promise me." He urged her.

It was then that Yuru turned slightly to look back at him, her brows knit together, and she nodded her head slightly. "I promise…" she quietly said. "I must go now, Bruce Banner will come looking for me… they are getting closer to finishing the machine."

He reluctantly released her and watched as she disappeared down the hall. It didn't take him long to decide that he had to figure out what his brother had been up to and immediately went in search of him.

"Sorry!" Thor shrugged. "I did not realize I would cause the ship to tilt."

"You're a demi-god..." Fury sighed heavily.

"I promise…it won't happen again, I'll watch my strength." Thor tried once more to reassure him. Loki stood at the entrance of the open hall that lead to the Sky Deck and watched as his brother tried to argue his way out of it. It was really sort of enjoyable. Finally when Fury dropped his assault and left, Loki stepped out of hiding and clapped his hands slowly causing Thor to turn.

"Congratulations." Loki was smiling. "You've seemed to have reached his bad side."

"Well, in my opinion it was worth it." Thor dropped down, sitting on one of the steps. Loki joined him, looking at him intently, waiting for an explanation. "What?" Thor cocked a brow.

"What are you doing?" Loki asked.

"Just some fun." Thor admitted.

"I had thought the Chitauri were here for Yuru." Loki sounded a bit angry.

Thor was grinning ear to ear now.

"Why are you smiling like that? It's not funny." Loki was a little more irritated at this point, even as his brother began to chuckle heartily to himself.

"I knew it." Thor clapped his hands. "You like her!"

"Who?"

"Do not play dumb brother, I've watched. I've seen the way you look at her." Thor was insistent. "You cannot hide this from me."

"You're mad." Loki dismissed Thor's accusations and quickly looked away. It was truer than the light of day, and his brother could read on it. There was no doubt that Stark knew due to his reactions up at the converted lab. His desire to protect what was his was obvious. Whether Yuru was aware of this already or not was unknown to him. "It cannot be." Loki finally admitted.

"What?" Thor jumped up as soon as his brother stood.

"Yuru and myself." Loki said walking down the steps to hopefully leave Thor behind, but he continued to follow.

"Loki! Are you listening to yourself?" Thor tried to reach out to stop his brother only for Loki to wheel around quickly with a finger pointed up at him.

"You don't understand." Loki decided to argue back. "By having affections for her, I've condemned her." Loki's voice was full of anger now. "If The Other gets his hands on her and learns of my feelings for Yuru he'll do more than make her see the future…" Loki paused, taking in a couple of frustrated breaths. "He made a promise to me." Loki looked up at his brother.

Thor was at a loss of words. His brother suffered, and he could do nothing to help. "Yuru…" he began quietly. "She saw a future where the Chitauri came for you; they tortured you and killed you. She wanted to save you, and thus she changed your fate by asking All-Father to make you her guardian."

"You don't think I know that already?" Loki said harshly. He sighed, "What she didn't count on was me remembering our childhood." He looked back up at Thor. "What she didn't count on was me falling for her."

"That may be true... But what is for sure is that Yuru wanted you in it." Thor tried to console him. "She suffered many new visions for days because of you, it was a future she wanted, that All-Father, mother and I wanted…"

Loki seemed sadder at this point. "And now she will be the one to pay the price should the time come." He laughed to himself quickly in disbelief, "It all makes sense now."

"What?" Thor asked.

"Yuru's song: 'Visions of light, our hope, despite the price.' Sculptors of time, whenever they changed something the prophecy would usually come back at them…"

"Brother," Thor grabbed him by the shoulder, slightly shaking him. "We'll keep Yuru safe. She will know no harm because of your past actions. Keep her safe…in here." He pointed towards his chest where his heart was.

"I hope that you are right." Loki replied.


	12. Back to the Drawing Board

**Chasing Ragnarok  
**_Back to the Drawing Board_  
By: Anencephaly

"Ah there you are." Bruce Banner greeted Yuru with a smile, though he could instantly tell that she seemed off. "I was just about to send a search party out for you." He tried to joke with her.

"I got lost." Yuru said looking around at the lab. "You and Stark work fast, do you ever sleep?" she moved towards the chair they had set up before hand and looked at the strange devices attached to it.

"Sleep sounds nice." Banner replied, his eyes falling to here feet. "Do you always walk around with no shoes on?"

Yuru looked down at her own feet and then back up at Banner. "It helps to silence my footsteps." She replied.

"Ah, yes." Banner turned back from an panel against the wall. "I heard that you've taken to hiding in various places on the ship." He turned back to what he was doing while Yuru sat in the chair. "Any reason?"

"Avoiding Stark." Yuru answered quietly.

"Don't let him get to you." Banner threw his screwdriver down and turned to her.

"No, he wants me to attend some sort of party on Earth." She replied.

Banner furrowed his brows, "You mean the conference held by The World Security Council regarding The Avenger's Initiative?" Yuru nodded, "He asked you?"

"He will…"

None too soon Stark walked in, acknowledging both as he set to work. "All of the appropriate measures in place?" Stark asked as he began to fire the machines up. "I wouldn't want to fry her brain on the first try." Stark slid his finger across the screens. He looked up to see her glaring at him, "I'm kidding! Come on, a joke." He set the screen down.

"All are in place, I just got finished wiring the devices into the ships computer. Hopefully it should be enough processing power to get what we want." Banner approached Yuru.

Stark forced a smile, "Hear that Oh-Future-Seeing-Goddess? Tell me, will it work?" He sat on one of the arm rests as he looked down at her.

"I do not know anything about what you two are accomplishing with this machine…the future won't tell me what needs to be changed or not."

Disappointed Stark stood up with a sigh, "That's no fun." He sighed. "Oh yes, by the way there's this little get together I don't know if you've heard about it yet. I'm certainly not asking you out on a date because well, the CEO of my company, my girlfriend will kill me. But I was wondering if you would join—"

"I should not partake in human affairs." Yuru replied.

Stark sighed, "Are you really going to make me ask nicely?" he tried to egg her on as he prepared the machine. He stopped what he was doing and looked down at her intently. "Please?"

Yuru pursed her lips as she looked up at him, and then over to Banner who seemed slightly embarrassed over Stark's actions. She looked back up at Stark and then finally released her own sigh. "I will go." She finally said, "But do not hope to use my abilities to figure out the motives behind the members of The World Security Council. My business for visiting Earth is that of Ragnarok. No one must know who I am or why I am here."

Stark's eyes lit up and he smiled, "Great! See? That wasn't so hard. No worries future reader, I'll send Agent Romanov your way to help you pose like a human…wait was human the correct word? Don't you guys refer to us as mortals?" He picked up a visor and held it just above Yuru's head. "So tomorrow night, I'll pick you up for the ball."

Yuru sighed, "Suddenly I feel as if I am going to regret this."

"Nah, you'll love it kiddo. Now, pay attention… this is the device that will help us see into that head of yours. It's harmless…I think…" he looked back at Banner with a gruesome look on his face. Banner simply rolled his eyes as he worked. "Am I scaring you yet?" Stark asked. "Anyway, here goes. All I need you to do is focus on that vision you saw and we should be good." He slid it over her head; it covered the top half of her face and ended just at the tip of her nose.

Stark took a step back to observe his handy work and then pointed his eyes towards Bruce Banner, with a nod of his head he gave the okay to go.

The machine started up, and in an instant Yuru could feel an immense pressure weighing down upon her head that soon spread to her body. She gasped out in surprise and dropped her head back against the head rest.

"Yuru, are you alright?" Banner was concerned.

"Fine…" Yuru said as she pulled her head forward. "The vision is returning…"

"Main Screen On." Stark said. A large screen turned on in between Yuru and himself. "Re-adjust output levels to max."

"It's no use." Banner shook his head. "The imagery is too fuzzy to read, it's only picking up variables of light. If we want a clearer image we need a higher processing power."

Stark sighed, "Shut down." The system cut off immediately and the main screen disappeared. Stark approached Yuru, helping to take the visor from her head. "How did you feel in there?" Stark asked.

"How about how I feel now?" Yuru held her head with both hands.

"What is it?" Stark asked, he looked up again at Banner who was focused on them. "Water." Stark said and Banner nodded reaching for an empty glass.

"Light headed. The machine made me feel…heavy, dragged down."

"Drunk?" Stark asked. Yuru shot him a glance and then nodded; it was the appropriate word for it. Banner handed her the glass and she took it, quickly drinking. "We may have an issue here." Stark said to his colleague.

"Looks like it." Banner replied. "Back to the drawing board?"

Stark seemed deep in thought as he looked at one of the monitors, "I'm thinking she should wear a soft purple. What say you doctor?"

"Be serious." Banner was slightly agitated.

"I am being serious…" Stark knit his brows together, the man had no patience for games at this moment as far as he could tell. "Yuru will absorb whatever energy the machine is giving off. It looks like we can't go too high without possibly compromising her physical well-being, even gods have their limitations too I guess."

"I can do it." Yuru handed the glass back to Banner, "Make the necessary changes…I will go through with it. It is important that we find the last piece of Ragnarok. Even if something were to happen to me, it would probably be to our benefit."

"Noble." Stark tried to show some enthusiasm.

"I need rest." Yuru finally said.

"I'll walk you back to your room." Banner helped her to stand and together they left Stark to his own thoughts.


	13. Value of Life

**Chasing Ragnarok**  
_Value of Life_  
By: Anencephaly

Loki stood within the shadows, hiding himself from the humans. Though he knew that Fury and Hawkeye had taken notice of him. They had docked at a bay area and more crew had come aboard but only to turn the sky deck and the adjoining rooms into a gala. Thor was insistent on him attending, though he considered the situation wasteful of precious time. It wasn't until Thor had mentioned Yuru attending that he found a slight interest in going. As the hall began to slowly fill with men and women dressed in their best he felt an eagerness to step down into the party and torment their minds with curiosity. The people of earth had a vague idea of whom he was, SHIELD and their operatives had a clear idea of who he was. He relished the thought of how many mind games he could play, but his mind was soon distracted by a faint glimmer across the room on the stairwell leading down to the sky deck. He leaned against the railing now to get a closer look. There she was, arm entangled with Tony Stark and on the other side of him was a human woman with red hair and dressed in fine black and grey. Yuru stood out however from the rest, her Vanir features made her obviously foreign. But still she looked exquisite dressed in a human gown of soft purple, her hair pulled back with tresses hanging down that brushed against her skin just barely when she turned her head to greet people that Stark had introduced.

Loki wanted to just watch. He was curious as to why Stark had desired her presence at a human affair, and it was a safe bet that he was going to attempt to coerce her into reading people's future intentions for him. He heard footsteps against the metal grate on the catwalk, and there Thor stood dressed in a suit and tie. "You should come down." Thor tried to push him.

"There's no reason to engage socially with these humans."

"Yuru is." Thor joined his side.

"A desire she did not have." Loki retorted.

"Come on brother, the humans are a friendly-"

"Weak."

"Race. Besides, it doesn't look like Yuru will find enjoyment at Tony's arm the entire night." Loki rolled his eyes, and then stood straigh up, pulling at the collar of his jacket and straightening his suit. "That's the spirit! Let us go!"

Loki followed, every once in a while to see Yuru being paraded around by Stark while the other girl mingled with several men who appeared to be people of importance.

He could tell that Yuru was doing her best to hide her dissatisfaction with the situation, even as Stark would lean over casually from time to time and whisper something into her ear. She would force a smile without looking at him and then after a moment look away for something in particular. Was she helping him? She would after a few moments' lean back in and whisper back and he would smile and carry on with formalities.

Yuru had eventually made her escape seating herself at a table in the corner where Hawkeye and Romanov sat. She acknowledged them, carried on a short conversation and they soon stood leaving her. Loki approached her from behind, half expecting her to turn back to surprise him. Instead she remained with her back turned gazing out at the party. He reached forward lightly placing his hand on her shoulder, startled she whipped around to see him standing there and her face somewhat relaxed.

"Loki!" she said in a hushed voice, "what are you doing here?"

"It's not like I wanted to be here." he openly admitted to her and joined her in the empty seat that was closest to the shadows. "My brother kept insisting... "

"But..." Yuru was against the idea.

"Calm yourself Yuru. The humans see another face as I walk amongst them..." he looked away from those passing by and then turned to look at Yuru, she seemed a little pale, "You're not yourself."

"Truthfully I have no desire to be here as well, but it wasn't until a moment ago that I started having new visions..."

Loki leaned forward so that she could whisper. "Of?"

Yuru shook her head, "I do not know, maybe it was my imagination... I thought I saw the chitauri here..."

Loki felt alert at once, "Do they know?" he was referring to the Avengers. Yuru nodded her head and then nodded towards the scaffolding where agents prowled above, hands folded in front of each other, alert and ready. "I don't think you should be here right now."

"Perhaps, but I think if they were to try and capture me now they would have done it without being discrete, and I would have saw it... I think..."

Loki arched a brow, "You think?"

She shook her head and avoided his gaze. When she finally had the courage to glance at him he was staring her down. She gave a audible sigh, "I have not rested well in a while." she admitted.

He wanted to scold her in a way, but it would have done neither of them any good. He could tell that she was on edge, and it made him feel slightly edgy just the same. Loki stood from his chair, and held out his hand to her, "Come." he said quietly. Though despite the confused look on her face, she took his hand and he helped her to stand. He kept his eyes on her at all times as he took it upon himself to take both of her hands and lead her in reverse to the center of the floor. Loki took her by her wrists just as the orchestra began playing a soft slow song. He drew her hands over his shoulders and around his neck. He didn't move his eyes from her as he traced his hands down her bare arms, over her shoulders, down her back and settled his hands on the small of her waist. He wasn't finished there, the distance between him and her was unsatisfying, and with a light tug he was able to move her closer, even though she looked away in embarrassment.

"That's better..." he whispered.

Yuru's embarrassment subsided after a moment or two. She had never had this sort of interaction with anyone, and it left her feeling a little scared. Yuru finally mustered up the courage to look at him, their eyes meeting instantly. "Thank you..." she replied back just as quietly.

Loki laughed lightly, "No need to thank me, 'Priestess'. I'm simply doing my time." he coyly replied.

"What about after that?" Yuru tried to keep it serious.

"Do you not see the future?" Loki was insistent on keeping the mood easy, at least for her sake.

Yuru sighed a little and forced a smile with a knit brow, "Even if I do... the future is still of your own making..." She decided to have it his way. After a moment or two of being led by him, she met his eyes with hers once more. "Loki..."

The way she had said his name brought him into a serious frame of mind, it was clear, yet firm and soft at the same time...

"Yes?"

Her eyes softened, and she smiled softly as she looked up at him. A moment or two past as he waited for her to say more. Instead she leaned forward, laying her head against his chest as they danced slowly. "I am glad that you decided to come." she finally said. He smiled to himself too, secretly thinking just the same. He had successfully soothed her poor nerves. They spent some time together like this, until finally Yuru perked her head up, looking across the room.

"What is it?" Loki stopped with her.

Yuru pursed her lips and then looked up at Loki. "That woman over there seated with the elder man...they should not be trusted." Yuru said.

"You're helping Stark?" Loki asked.

Yuru lowered her eyes, "Against what I normally would do, but without them we risk danger...their world needs them."

Loki raised her head up by her chin, "Just as our world needs us right now. The humans fear-"

Yuru raised up her hand, touching his lips with her index finger to seal them, "You must not say such things in the presence of humans, you do not know who could be watching..." Loki understood that it wasn't the humans she was speaking of, but possibly someone else that had the ability to see beyond his or her own sight. Though he didn't believe that there was anyone other than her that could possibly see visions of the future. "I grow tired." Yuru finally said.

"Should I accompany you back?" Loki asked.

Yuru shook her head, "No..." she replied to his disappointment. "I do not wish to go back just yet," her words then breaking his disappointment. "I would like to go outside... I want to see Earth again with my own eyes. Will you come with me?"

He didn't really understand her fascination with Earth, but he agreed to accompany her anyway. They managed to break free from the party without any trouble. Yuru and Loki stepped outside into the cool fresh air, something neither of them had experienced in some time since becoming guests of SHIELD. Guests of the party too had decided to break away from the party as well, and had settled themselves into small groups away from one another.

They had put some distance between themselves and the humans where Yuru leaned up against the rail looking out at the city that lay some distance away, Loki didn't join her just yet, only watched her. "I miss home..." Yuru whispered.

"When it's all over we can return." Loki approached her; he shrugged off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders.

"Thank you," she looked up at him and smiled a little as she held it close and then looked back up at the city. "When you return home you'll be free again. Prince of Asgard."

The use of that title kind of pulled at his heart strings. It was a sensitive topic, he was torn between accepting and rejecting the title. It was a great part of his life, yet a burden. He had no claim to the Throne; that much was clear to him. Then what? He would just be forever be known as a Prince of Asgard? With no true respect? It only left him with a second choice but to try and find another world to rule so he could be equal to his brother.

"You... Don't want to?" Yuru broke his thought.

"I do not know... The concept is both familiar and foreign to me. I have gone too far, said and have done things... Asgard...it all could have been mine."

Yuru reached over placing a firm hand on his, "There are some things that are meant to be and some things that are not... I know you strive to be held in the same regard as your brother, but you must learn to see."

"See what?" Loki felt oddly calm as she spoke about it. "You must see that you already are on the same level. All-Father has loved you and raised you as his own since you came to Asgard. He had another dream for you though... One that could not be realized because of past events."

He understood, "I am not sure if they will welcome someone like me home."

Yuru released her hand from his, "Eventually." Yuru tried to reassure him.

"What of you?" Loki asked.

Yuru looked up at him again, "Me?" she knit her brows together. Yuru then lowered her eyes, "I will continue serving All-Father I suppose..." Yuru answered. "My home is now Asgard..."

She looked back up at the city a smile lying across her lips, "it's beautiful, don't you think?"

Yuru was beautiful, he thought nodding to her. He watched as she closed her eyes briefly, "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Making a wish." She answered. "Wishing that we can find the last piece of Ragnarok, seeing it so close and yet so far…"

"And the closer you come into danger." Loki added.


	14. Untold Futures

**Chasing Ragnarok**  
_Untold Futures_  
By: Anencephaly

"I am troubled." Thor stood above the others at a round table. He had everyone's attention. "Loki tells me that Yuru's visions are sparse as of late."

"So maybe that's a good thing." Fury cupped his hands together.

"It is more of an ill omen, friend." Thor shifted his weight onto one leg. "We suspect that the enemy may have an advantage over us."

"What has an advantage over someone who can see something before it comes?" Natasha asked.

"Someone who sees what is to come…" Loki replied. "At least it is what Yuru believes. That there is another like her… or perhaps more."

"And working with the Chitauri?" Hawkeye looked up at him.

"Perhaps," Loki said quietly.

Fury took in a deep sigh, deliberating thoughts as he looked down at the glass table. "Then now is the time to figure out what we should do to ensure Yuru does not end up in their hands." He leaned back in his chair, looking at the Avengers.

"We can put up a fight," Steve began. "But I don't feel comfortable with placing the battlefield on the planet. No offense, but we're putting our necks out there for something only one person can see."

"A sentiment I share." Natasha replied calmly.

There was a moment of silence and then finally Bruce took in a slight breath, "But this is our home…and a piece of the sword was put on our planet. Yuru, Loki, Thor… Odin…they had no control over that. This is why they're here."

"But they brought another piece of the sword to us… bringing the end of the world to us," Hawkeye added.

"It seems to me that it doesn't matter where either piece is in the universe, if they're joined together then we're all doomed, right?" Stark looked up at Thor.

Thor, unable to speak of what would come simply nodded and everyone sat in silence. Fury leaned back in his chair, "And the projector?" he looked over at Stark and Banner.

"It's not coming as well as we had hoped. It's draining on her, if we had the tesseract there would be a higher success rate." Stark replied. "I've even gone as far as building an arc reactor to try and offset the drain that it puts on her." He paused. "We're close though… the images are getting clearer and clearer."

Fury nodded, "In the meantime, I have to agree with the others that we are operating blindly here…we could be walking right into a trap and we wouldn't even know it. But it just so happens that we have someone that could help to avoid all of that. Tell me… what will help her start seeing again?"

Thor looked away from Fury and towards Loki who was staring up at him. A grave look was etched upon Loki's face as they both thought of the one thing that could force Yuru to see."

"There is one-"

"It is not a wise idea, brother." Loki interrupted threateningly.

"But if it will keep her out of their hands…" Fury responded. Loki admittedly felt defeated; in order to protect her he had to let this pass. He listened as Thor explained to them that the piece of Ragnarok would aid them. It wasn't long before the piece of Ragnarok was brought to them and placed on a pedestal near Thor, and in time Yuru was brought to them by a SHIELD operative. "Sorry to wake you... But you understand why you're here right now, right?"

Yuru kept her eyes fixated upon Fury and then glanced over at the piece of Ragnarok. "Yes," she quietly replied. She lowered her eyes, "I knew that it would eventually come to this..."

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Fury tried to make it easier for her.

Yuru looked up at him, "I don't want to," she admitted. "But I will..." she looked down at the fragment of sword, "What waits for me to see on the other side of this is death..." Yuru took a step forward. She observed the shard of Ragnarok, and then finally knelt down putting forth one of her hands only for Loki to grab it stopping her from placing her hand against it.

"Yuru..."

She looked up at him, "I'll be alright." she said. It took him a while to release her arm; he wasn't going to go against her. He wasn't going to risk the truth of the matter. He took a step back next to Thor and watched as Yuru raised her hand up, just in front of the piece of Ragnarok. She closed her eyes and held her other hand to her chest. After a moment or two she swayed forward and rested back into place.

"What is it Yuru? What do you see?" Thor asked.

She kept her eyes closed, but let out a faint sigh. "Ragnarok," Yuru whispered. "The end of days that is to come, a sword once forged for the end of time will return and with it those of Asgard shall perish in fight. Midgard, Asgard, all nine realms of Yggdrasil will be turned to darkness..." Moisture glossed her face, and beads of sweat formed at her temples. Her eyes were shut tightly but her eyeballs moved back and forth underneath her lids. Her breathing was rigid, and her lips parted to help take in air.

"What's happening?" Banner asked.

"A prophecy... Valhalla is speaking through her." Thor replied. He took a step forward and knelt, "Yu... Listen to me; I need you to tell me what will happen to you."

"It's too dark…" Yuru said. She moved her hand closer, "No light, but the darkness... An unfamiliar presence..." Yuru shook her head almost touching the half of the sword; it was glowing faintly, responding to her.

"It is happening again..." Yuru whispered. She hunched over holding her hand over her left side and let out a whimper. "No..." She whispered...tears fell from the corners of her eyes.

"Forgive me..." Thor said quietly as he reached out taking her by the wrist and pulled her forward, placing her hand on the sword. She threw her head back letting out a shriek; her eyes open as she looked toward the ceiling.

"Stop!" Loki commanded reaching over to pull Thor off. However his brother held fast as he held Yuru there.

"No! Wait brother! Look! Can you not see?" Thor was nodding to her eyes. Yuru's face relaxed as she eased into the visions and Loki's grip loosened.

"Yuru?" Fury stood from his seat, bewildered by the spectacle.

She closed her eyes releasing a sigh of relief. "A trap..." she whispered, falling off to the side. Thor pulled her back, calling out to her.

"A trap..." Loki repeated her words as he knelt down, placing a hand over her head. "She is exhausted..."

"They will come...soon...I am sorry...they too can see." Yuru's words were weak.

"Rest, we'll take care of everything." Fury said.

"We should split up..." Natasha said.

"No... " Steve replied, "If they can see something before we make our move then we should remain together. They will know if the immediate future changes. We should take the offensive."

"Attack before they do?" Hawkeye arched a brow. "We don't even know where they are, let alone if they are in this realm."

"Because they planned to use the tesseract to get here..." Loki looked up from Yuru.

"How do you know? Something you would have done?" Stark prodded at him.

"Exactly..." Loki stood. "To see what is coming before it even happens would be a very valuable weapon...if I were them and I had no way into Midgard or to an essential piece of the puzzle, I would wait... And watch." Loki exhaled heavily with annoyance. "Yuru guessed correctly that they must have Vanir... And they kept themselves concealed whenever Father was close, at least until Yuru was able to see the last piece... Father... Will he come to Midgard?"

"With the use of the tesseract..." Thor quietly said.

"Father is following a trail of breadcrumbs... While they follow him..." Loki looked towards Thor.

"We must move quickly then..." Thor replied.

"Let's think this through then, if they can see something that will happen in the near future then our next few moves will be predicted..." Stark crossed his arms, "So that means..."

"Keep your thoughts to yourself." Fury looked back at them. "Work on whatever individual goals you think will help our situation... No more than one person can know what you plan...I suppose that when we work together as a team the consciousness grows louder...in theory."

"Perhaps," Thor scooped Yuru up into his arms, "Then change plans midway through... Yuru is the only one able to see near and far futures."

"Dismissed," Fury commanded them. "Loki..." Fury called out to his former nemesis. Loki turned, arching a brow. "Not bad... Let's see what else you've got."

Loki simply looked at him, and then finally turned. There was no sense of pride, only a bit annoyance for how simple minded he felt humans were. But still, they were agreeing to help even though they had nothing really to do with it, and Yuru had laid her trust within them so easily that it could very well cost her. He watched her as Thor laid her to rest on a medical table where Banner would ultimately keep watch over her.

Time was running short...

((_I'm terribly sorry of the delay with this story… I've had a really really busy semester. But the good news is that after this semester I will be taking a Fiction Writing class! Which should be pretty fun and help me improve even more on my writing! I'll finish this story one way or another!))_


	15. Going Under

**Chasing Ragnarok**  
_Going Under_  
By: Anencephaly

Loki's eyes opened slowly, he found himself lying face down against a metal grate, rubble all around him. He recognized this place, or what remained of it; it was SHIELD's helicarrier. It was torn to pieces and only bits of the hull had remained. Normally he would have been pleased at the sight of SHIELD's destruction, but this…this appalled him. He rolled over to look around, his eyes instantly moving up towards the sky. His brows knit together as he pushed himself to stand. The sky above him was not the sky of Midgard, but the sky of Asgard, a weight hit him in the chest like nothing he had felt before. It was impossible and improbable… what had happened here? Loki looked down, surveying the state of the buildings and the world around him, it was a blended deformed mix of all the worlds of Yggdrasil, a sick interpretation of what one unified world might bring, not even he would dare try to conceive something so repulsive. This had made him realize that none of this had to be real…he had to be dreaming.

Oddly enough, he couldn't recall falling asleep…unless that this had been Yuru's doing? Just like when he had seen visions of her past, and now he was being shown what she could see? If that was the case, maybe Yuru was somewhere around here or someone… anyone. Decidedly he climbed out from the crash and out onto the road which had become the rainbow bridge that once led to the bifrost. There were bodies on the street, but none of whom he recognized. Where was Father? Thor? Or any of those mortals he had come to ally himself with. Loki trudged on until finally he stopped after seeing something that looked familiar within the street. He cautioned himself as he took a couple of more steps forward only to hear something behind him. Quickly he turned, Yuru was there. She was clothed in her battle attire, however she was limping, and dragging her sword behind her like a child would a rag doll.

"Yuru…" Loki called her name.

She stopped, her eyes glancing upwards and then finally filling with tears. She cried out a bit, holding onto her side and made her way forward, and as he reached out towards her she had passed clear through him and appeared out on the other side. It wasn't her, it was a mere memory. He followed her as she approached the mass in the middle of the Bifrost road, she dropped her sword halfway there and when she finally reached the deceased figure she dropped to her knees and reached out turning the person over. It was him, lying dead in her arms. It was a bit of a surprise…but in this world, he would have guessed it.

"Loki…" Yuru's voice wavered as she pulled him close. She brought her hand over his face, pushing his hair back. Her tears fell against his face and there was no reaction. "I am so sorry…"

No, it was he who was sorry. She was very close to danger, and there was no way to prevent it. Instead he had only made it worse for her. "Not for me." He said as he watched her cry over him. "I am not deserving of your tears. Truthfully, what I have been too blind to see all along you have made very clear for me, and I respect that because of who you are and what you have been through." He lowered his head, "I will not let you slip into another lonely world of pain."

"Loki…" he heard her voice behind him again and looked up. As he looked over a blinding light seared his vision, he winced and heard his name again. Only this time it was the sound of Clint calling out to him. When his vision was restored he looked up to see that he was sitting on the floor outside of the medical room where Yuru was. He remembered then what he had been doing just before he had passed out. "Loki?" Clint called his name again, grabbing his attention. The god of mischief stood, acknowledging him. "Here," He held out a small button.

"What is it?" Loki arched a brow.

"Standard tracking device… should something happen a transport will dispatch and retrieve you. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't feel obligated to give you one, but you'll be near Yuru a lot from what I gather." Clint's words were spiteful, the tone a reminder of his displeased nature with Loki. Normally Loki would have smiled, and retorted with something to either put the human on edge, or pry for a good fight, but he nodded taking the pin and attaching it to his coat. Clint eyed him carefully, curious as to why there was no assault of words, "Why were you asleep on the floor?" He asked.

"I would love to be able to know the answer to that question myself…" Loki answered quietly as he turned back to look through the glass where Banner and Stark on one side of the lab debated and on the other Yuru slept. "My brother… where is he?" Loki turned back to Hawkeye.

"At the bridge with Director Fury."

Loki nodded "A favor, perhaps?" trying to be as pleasant as possible.

Hawkeye eyed him, "What is it?"

"Call my brother here, it's important that I speak with him."

Hawkeye nodded, and turned slightly pressing a finger to his ear and began to communicate with the other side. In time the message was through and he confirmed with Loki that Thor would be there in no time. "You've gone from wanting to take over the world to saving it..." Hawkeye finally said after a moment or two.

Loki looked back at him, eyeing him dangerously. "Perhaps I've underestimated humanity in the past... But we're in this now together."

Hawkeye scoffed, rolling his eyes to one side. "You're right there." Hawkeye turned then and walked away leaving it at that.

Loki watched, wondering if the archer had forgiven him.

"No, stop...you must not go this way." Loki doubled over as a piercing sound followed Yuru's voice. He looked up to see Hawkeye at the other end of the hall in the same stance. "They are coming..." his heart sank into his stomach and he quickly pulled himself off of the floor. The alarms went off signaling danger in addition to Yuru's warnings.

Already Banner was at Yuru's side, helping her to stand. He threw the doors open, ready to escape with her. Yuru turned away from Banner, reaching out to Loki. She grasped the collar of his jacket, holding herself steady. "All-father."

"He is here?"

"They follow...the All-father... We must protect him." Yuru replied.

Loki looked away from her towards Banner and the others. "My brother must be warned, I will take Yuru."

"No... " Natasha arrived, "They'll be expecting that..." she approached Yuru quickly, grabbing her by her dress and unzipped it quickly, placing a SHIELD uniform in her arms, "Need I explain more?" she looked at the Seeress intently.

Yuru shook her head and then stood, steadying herself. "They'll fire first… but they will not crash the ship while we are still on it. I would suggest firing first… into the East."

"Into the east?" Stark arched a brow and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Natasha asked.

"It's rude to not greet our guests." Stark paused before he left.

Banner looked back at Loki, and turned his head away as Yuru pulled the suit over her body. Loki glanced back briefly noting why the monster had turned away quickly. "I'll take Yuru out of here… we can meet up later." Banner said.

"I hardly think you're capable of taking care of her while maintaining that thing-"

"Loki is right…" Yuru turned to them; she raised her hand up touching the side of Banner's face. "Your training has brought you to great new skill Bruce Banner. But it is clear, that if you witness what is to come, you will change unwillingly into it, you will lose control…" Yuru dropped her hand, "Protect our All-Father."

Hesitant, and dismayed by her words Banner nodded, bidding her to be safe. He turned and left, leaving Yuru and Loki by themselves. The alarms died down after a moment or two and Fury had announced the commencement of battle.

"You're endanger here…"Loki said quietly.

"No more than you are…" Yuru quietly replied. She turned to him, clasping her hands together. "They will kill you… use you as an example…" Yuru lowered her eyes, "I have seen it."

Loki silently inhaled deeply, "They can try if they'd like," he moved forward and placed himself in front of her, towering over her. "We leave."

Yuru closed her eyes briefly and looked up at him, "I cannot let you pass." She quietly replied.

He narrowed his eyes, and before he could say a word he blocked her fist from connecting with his face, and he was defending himself against an onslaught of attacks. She nailed him once in the gut, causing him to become aggressive with her as he sought to subdue her. It wasn't long before she overpowered him, rendering him unconscious; she caught his heavy frame and slowly settled him to the floor. Yuru looked down at him, "I'm sorry…" Yuru quietly whispered to him. "But… please… do not awake until it's over, for my sake." Yuru lowered her head over his, leaning in and kissing him gently on his cheek.


	16. Enemy

**Chasing Ragnarok**  
_Enemy_  
By: Anencephaly

Sleipnir's hooves pounded out of sync with the rest of Odin's group. The horse had returned to him with some promising news of Loki and Yuru's quest, and it had been days since he had sent his son Thor to meet with them on Midgard. His own searching led him to a horrific discovery, but still with no sign of Thanos, The Other or the Chitauri fleet. It was time to prepare for the worst.

"We are almost there!" Sif called out as they passed through the gate.

Odin's eyes however clouded, he sensed something approaching behind them. "Faster!" He shouted, urging them to speed up. Odin glanced back to see the others take a glance at him; Heimdall however looked towards the back. In the distance of the stars they could see a fast approaching ship. Not a large one, but one built for speed. "They must not pass through, Heimdall!" Odin shouted.

Heimdall understood his master's request; he dropped back quickly, his steed writing up with a cry as he turned to face the approaching ship. From behind him he brandished a bow and arrow, pulling the string back tight and fired. It exploded in the distance, and Heimdall could sense the speed of the ship had slowed; he turned back again to see that the others were near the exit and then his gaze turned towards Midgard. "Hyah!" he kicked at the hind quarters of his horse and set off. None too soon the ship had appeared behind him, now closer than ever.

"Get through!" Odin shouted as he turned back to help his servant. The warriors three and Sif disappeared into the open void. The ship had defenses that Odin could not count on, and it too broke through the void, straight into Midgard, Odin and Heimdall chasing after it.

-

When Loki came too again he stumbled as he tried to stand. His ears were ringing and his vision slightly blurred. He fell into the table where Yuru had been resting. His fingers dug into the sheets, gripping them tightly as he tried to regain composure. His sense of balance was off beat as he tried to register the events of what had happened and place how long ago they may have happened. Yuru… her name clouded his mind. How did she take the advantage of him? Where did she go? He felt angry. When his mind settled and his body readjusted he stood up straighter to finally hear shouts down the hall and gun fire. They were already here, and his heart sank into his stomach immediately.

The feeling dissipated soon as a low clicking noise could be heard from behind him. Yes, he knew that noise all too well from his escapades throughout the realms. It spoke to him, called him a failure, a traitor and a dog. Loki bared his teeth however, throwing daggers of ice from his hands as he turned back. The Chitauri jumped, clinging onto the ceiling and climbed towards his direction. Loki wouldn't waste time however, he fired more daggers in the direction of his assailant and struck it clean in the head, causing it to come crashing down, destroying the medical bed and the equipment attached to it. Loki took a moment to observe the creature; he reached down and tore its weapon away from its lifeless limbs. He had to find Yuru. He had to find her fast.

A combination of dead SHIELD operatives and Chitauri littered the halls. He knew that The Other had to be here as well. The attack indeed was designed to keep the ship afloat while they searched for Yuru. As he rushed through the halls towards Yuru's room he clashed with more Chitauri, helping the humans take the advantage of the creatures. "Where is she?!" Loki would quickly demand answers.

"The girl? I don't know!"

He reached the room she had been staying in, only to find her suit still neatly folded on the bed, her pieces of armor and sword stacked on the shelf. The ship rocked heavily then and he caught himself as it settled into place. "Loki!" It was Fury's voice coming from the wall on the inside of Yuru's bedroom. He peaked in, his chest tightening.

"Where is she?" He asked again.

"B Deck! They're trying to ram the ship. You need to hurry, one of your friends are close."

Loki wasted no time in moving down the halls again, once more coming into contact with the Chitauri and quickly eliminating them. It seemed like forever before he would finally reach the Deck. "T-there…" a soldier was on the ground attempting to pull out one of the Chitauri's staffs from his side. Loki knelt down, pressing his hand against the soldier's abdomen and yanked quickly. He gave a yell and then settled into deep breathing. "T-hanks…" he said. "T-they were after her…sh-e went th-that way…" he lifted his hand up pointing down the direction where Chitauri lined the floor.

He turned back to look at the soldier, his brows furrowed. "Thank you…" he mustered up and stood, rushing down the hall and rounded the corner. She was at the other end of the open space, clashing with two other Chitauri who were quickly split from navel to shoulder. Her back still turned to Loki, she dropped the stolen weapons and marched forward. Before she could disappear into the darkness of the next hall he called out her name. She stopped, turning her head back to look at him.

Her eyes were heavy with worry. She pursed her lips and he could tell by the rise and fall of her chest that she was prepared to make distance between the two.

"Yuru, I…" he tried to keep her there as long as possible.

He watched as she lowered her eyes and turned her head forward again. The sheen of a scepter swiped through the air striking her across the face and causing her to hit the floor. Loki charged forward without hesitation, only to stop several feet away as his worst fear appeared from the shadows.

The Other stood there, a bloody disgusting grin swept across his face as he stepped closer to where Yuru lay. She pushed herself up only to have his large foot slam down against her upper body, pinning her to the floor. "Ahh, Loki…" The Other chuckled menacingly. "How good of you to come…"

Loki glanced down at Yuru, it was better to draw the attention onto him rather than her. "You know how I love a good battle…"

"It seems that you have taken a softer side to the humans…" The other laughed heavily once more.

"Perhaps…" Loki extended his arms out with an even crueler smile. "Twisting them to suit my needs has proven to be more useful…come… I know where they have the Tesseract…"

As Loki advanced forward, The Other reached down, grabbing Yuru by the back of the neck. "Not so fast, Loki." He raised his staff toward him dangerously as he held Yuru close. She closed her eyes tightly, and let out a whimper and struggled, pretending as if she were human.

"You're wasting your time with that. Just toss it aside and we'll be on our way." Loki was a little more careful in his steps.

The Other however maintained his grip on her. "This room, wreaks of your fear Loki…" The Other chuckled again.

Loki stopped in his tracks; he looked The Other up and down and forced a smile. "Perhaps your senses have grown weaker…" he continued to try and play it off.

The Other lowered his staff, directing it towards Yuru's throat. "You think I have still come for the Tesseract? No…you know very well what I have come for…" he gripped his hand tighter around the back of Yuru's throat. "There is only so much pain an Asgardian can take…" Yuru cried out now, reaching up and grabbed The Other's wrist behind her head.

"Stop." Loki finally broke after seeing her struggle. The Other's smile grew wider as he released his grip on Yuru.

" Yes…" the other breathed in deeply. "Just the answer I was looking for...Yuru." He gripped her tighter. Digging his nails into the back of her neck. Yuru winced as she looked up at Loki and shook her head anticipating that he would move to action.

"I said... STOP!" Loki's voice bellowed.

"It will not stop here, Loki, son of Odin... I have thought of many ways to make you suffer for your failures. But this... " he squeezed tighter, a thin stream of blood was produced and Yuru's eyes welled up as she bit her tongue. "To see her suffering become yours is double the pleasure... When we have everything we want from her, I will make her scream your name so you know that you have failed her. There will not be a place on her left untouched, and when you finally beg to take her place I will kill her."

Anger washed over his face and filled his mind. He jumped forward, taking the other by surprise and accidentally released Yuru. She stumbled forward, catching herself before she hit the floor again and turned to see Loki putting up a non-stop offensive against The Other. "Loki!" Yuru shouted. He didn't hear her as multiples of him began to show up, one grabbing her and pulling her away as The Other was thrown through the air and into the wall. "Loki, if you continue, he will kill you..." she tried to plead with his duplicate.

He ignored her again, stepping forward with the rest of the multiples. The Other rose up from the ground and slammed his staff into the ground causing a blast throughout the room. Yuru flew backwards into the wall, along with the multiples that disappeared soon afterwards. The real Loki stepped out of the rubble, striding forward with his own staff in hand. The battle continued on while Yuru tried to help subdue The Other. He grabbed Loki by the head, slamming it into the floor a few times creating a hole. Yuru quickly jumped onto his shoulders tightening her legs around The Other's neck. She threw herself backwards while still holding on, throwing The Other into the wall behind her.

"Odin has trained you well..." he chuckled.

Yuru stood up, glancing back at The Other. In front of her Loki stood, "Get away, Yuru." Loki said quietly.

She looked up at him, "If I don't he'll..." Loki ported in front of her, dipping her away from an attack and pushed her down. As moved to stand she watched as Loki's tricks were out tricked. The Other blasted him in the chest, sending him into another wall and into the floor. He wouldn't finish there, as The Other approached and Yuru ran forward tossing herself before him.

"Enough!" Yuru shouted. "I will go!"

The Other looked at her with interest, and then down at Loki. "I'm afraid that will not do. I want both of you..." the staff came again, slamming cleanly into the side of her head and she landed back, next to Loki.

Satisfied with his handiwork he wasted no time I calling the Chitauri to help retrieve both Loki and Yuru, and silently moved towards his next target: the piece of Ragnarok.

((Notes: So for the last two chapters… I want to apologize… those chapters were written very sloppily in my opinion…and I do plan on rewriting it in the future… now that Final's are over with I can safely say that the next chapters will improve in terms of writing… Hope that you are all at least enjoying where it is going.)


	17. Lost Hope

**Chasing Ragnarok**  
_Lost Hope_  
By: Anencephaly

"Yuru…wake up. Yuru." Loki tried calling out to her. He watched as she stirred, her hands shackled above her head flinched as she awoke.

"Loki?" Yuru called out to him.

"Are you alright?" He asked her.

"My head hurts…" she laid her head back against the wall and tried to move her hands from the restraints.

"We have to get out of here…" He said in a hushed voice as he tried to get free from his own chains. But no amount or force or pressure would break them free. They were captured, and The Other wasn't going to let them go so easily.

"I didn't want you to be here." Yuru quietly said.

"What?" Loki arched a brow.

"In case I would have been taken… I didn't want you to witness any of it."

He realized what she was talking about, but it did not explain why she went to such measures to make sure he wouldn't follow. "You made me a promise Yuru…" he tried to keep his tone down. "What is going to happen to you?"

Loki waited for an answer, but instead there was only silence.

"They're going to hurt her…" came another quiet more meek voice from the other corner of the room. They jumped a little, startled at this new comer. The sound of chains dragging across the floor and then finally a young boy appeared from the shadows. "My lady Seeress…" the boy dropped to his knees and bowed low, he appeared to have been tortured. "Please forgive us. We tried to keep them from you…"

Yuru let out a slight gasp as she caught a glimpse of the boy's eyes. A silvery sheen layered over his green eyes. Loki knew at once, and that Yuru had been right all along. She snapped out of it quickly, "Do not bow…not to me…" Yuru's brows furrowed. "It is I who should be bowing to you…I see your pain…" she tried to comfort the boy.

He kept his head low, but looked up from his kneeling position. "Do you know what will happen?" His voice cracked as if he wanted to cry.

Yuru looked away quickly, "I refuse to look…" her words wavered. "I will not let them find what they seek." Yuru whispered.

"What is your name, child?" Loki called out to the boy.

At once he turned on his knees and gave a low bow to Loki. "Djnn, my Prince…and on behalf of my kin, we want to thank you for keeping the Seeress safe."

Loki narrowed his eyes, "She is not safe anymore… I have failed."

Yuru looked up at him, her brows knit together lightly. It wasn't his fault that he had failed in keeping her safe. It had been hers…and he would certainly ask why sooner or later. "He comes…The Other." The boy warned them.

She looked towards the door and then back to Djnn. "Go, back into the shadows…if he sees you he will kill you." Yuru ordered him.

"But…" the boy tried to protest.

"Go! Listen to me!" Yuru ushered him, the panic set firm in her voice. The boy hesitated, but finally moved back into the darkness of his corner of the room, dragging his chain around his ankle with him. Loki watched, and then turned to look at Yuru who looked at the door almost fearfully.

"Why did you do it?" He asked her, "Why did you run away?"

Yuru looked back at him, shivering, a sign that she was trying to prepare herself for what was to come. "I…" Yuru whispered. "I cannot say."

"Tell me." He demanded.

Loki's gaze pierced her own, and she quickly looked away. "I cannot say…I am sorry, Loki. Forgive me."

Before he could pressure her for more answers the door hissed open, and through it The Other stepped inside, with two Chitauri guards following suit. Immediately the creatures went to Yuru, unshackling her chains from the wall. "Ahh, you are awake." The Other seemed pleased. "But I hope not long enough to see what is to happen… that will be most disappointing."

The Chitauri yanked her up to stand, her arms shackled tightly behind her back. She bravely stood tall, "I have seen," she firmly said. "You will find no satisfaction from me."

"Lying will not save you from a cruel fate, Seeress." The Other laughed. "I will make you scream out for help, I will taste your blood, sweat and tears…you should know that I will not torture you because you are the Seeress and you plan to put up a fight…but because of _him_." He pointed down at Loki. Their eyes connected instantly, and she could see the anger rising within him every second. He was trying to hold it in, at least for her sake. "When I touch you in ways that you could never think of, when I pierce your skin to taste your blood… he will be there watching. I will hurt you in every way imaginable because it will make him suffer." He looked over at her and then at Loki. "What is this face for? You do not believe me?" The Other asked.

The two said nothing as they looked at one another. The Other quickly grabbed Yuru at the shoulder just above her collarbone and buried his thumb nail into her shoulder. She didn't cry out, but instead dropped to the floor, The Other followed her, hovering over her squirming body. "She will have to scream soon…perhaps if I push a little further." He was pleased with his work. Loki could tell that she was using every fiber in her being to not make a noise, the tears dropped out of her eyes however as the suit was becoming drenched in her blood.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER YOU PATHETIC DEPRAVED CREATURE!" Loki shot forward, only to be held back by his chains. "I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD! I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW MEANING TO PAIN, AND WHEN I AM THROUGH WITH YOU I WILL REMOVE EVERY PART OF YOUR DESPICABLE BODY AND FEED IT TO THE BEASTS OF HELHEIM. THERE WILL BE NOTHING LEFT OF YOU, NOT A SCRAP TO RECOGNIZE YOU WITH."

The Other stopped, smiling coldly as he ripped his fingers out from Yuru's flesh. He reached down, tearing the suit, revealing her neck, collarbone and upper chest. When he looked back down at Yuru, she had turned her head away from Loki. "Tsk, tsk…" The Other placed a hand on her cheek and forced her head the other way, and held her down so she couldn't look back. He leaned over her, his hot rotten breath filling her nostrils as the cold bars of his mask grazed her skin. She watched as Loki struggled with his chains, while The Other ran his tongue from her collarbone up to her neck.

"GET OFF OF HER! YOU DO NOT TOUCH OUR SEERESS!" the rattle of chains and Djnn's scream filled the room as he ran forward, jumping onto The Other's back, shouting over and over again as he punched at The Other relentlessly.  
One of the Chitauri soldiers peeled him off with little effort, holding him up by his shirt. The Other prepared to strike at him with one of the guard's spears.

"NO!" Yuru shouted.

It wasn't exactly what he had wanted, but it was something. He looked down at Yuru and then towards the boy. The guard tossed him aside when he was given the okay. "Pick her up… he wishes to see her." The Other ordered the two.

"Yuru!" Loki called out to her. "Yuru, look into the future… flood your mind, close yourself off to this realm." Loki tried to help her as they dragged her away.

"Silence!" The Other hit Loki across the face and then left with the others, the door closing firmly behind them as Loki continued to call out Yuru's name.

Was this the fate that had been decided for them? Yuru shuddered at the thought as they dragged her through the halls. Truthfully, the future was stagnant here. It seemed like it had stopped at this point and there was nothing left to fill in the blanks. Her heart sank as she thought about Loki, wanting to tell him everything. But her silence was their only saving grace.

They entered a large room, which was more lit than the prison cell she had come from. The Other pushed her forward and she stumbled deeper in. At the center there was some sort of large strange machinery. She had her guesses as to what it might have been. Perhaps a similar device to what Banner and Stark were trying to build for her. As she waited, expecting Thanos to appear before her, her mind clouded the darkness fading and a haze of images appearing. Yuru dropped to her knees.

"I am sorry for the visions you are forced to witness now, Seeress." A deep voice came from behind her. His footsteps padded around her as he moved to the front of her. She looked up, to see a man with silver hair clad in leather armor. Her eyes danced across the room as the future reformed and filled in the blanks. She winced as she watched a series of events involving the man.

"Who are you?" her voice was shaken.

"Someone who has spent his life in the shadows just waiting for the opportune moment to reclaim what is rightfully his, and you have something that I want, Yuru." His voice was demanding.

Yuru dropped back, trying to create distance between him and her. "Get away from me." She said as tried to regain composure.

"I had started the chain of events that would eventually lead to the All-Father's demise, with the power of that sword. But your mother saw fit to change these events and paid the price with her life… You too will share the same fate if you try to stand in my way." He stepped forward, breaking the distance between him and her. "Leave us." He looked up at The Other and his guards. The Chitauri quickly vacated, but The Other lingered behind, hoping to see some sort of twisted torture in the works. A menacing glance from the man with silver hair caused him to abandon hope for his guilty pleasures and finally he left. It was just him and her now.

"I have long since waited for this moment where I could finally get to meet Your Highness." He advanced forward with one step yet again. "The All-Father hid you well from me, but now that I have you, nothing can stand in my way of obtaining Ragnarok."

"I won't help you." Yuru pushed herself to stand.

"Such a pity…I was going to give you a choice in the matter…save you the trouble of enduring pain and suffering just as other members of the Vanir have." He snapped his fingers and the pod opened up, revealing a woman who was chained upside down within it. She was dead. "They all have died each and every one of them that helped me to find you." He extended his hand out to her, "Join me, Yuru…" he took a step forward as she looked at the dead Vanir within the pod. "We can create a new world together, the line of Seeress' does not have to end here."

"You hid yourself from sight; you used the Chitauri to blind me…" Yuru whispered.

"It was not an easy thing to do…every time you had come close to the truth we had the Vanir change the direction…you are even more powerful than your mother before you."

Yuru looked at him as he was closer than before. "Who are you?" she demanded once more.

He placed a hand against her face, gazing into her eyes as if that of a lover. His face once expressionless turned angry. "There is another in your heart…" he finally said. "This man… shall face death for taking what is mine." Yuru narrowed her eyes, her heart rising in her chest.

Loki.

She jumped up, throwing her hands underneath her and proceeded to strike at him. He caught her wrist, pulling her forward with great force. "You would protect him?"

"No…" Yuru whispered. "I would give him my life." She tossed her head forward, slamming it into his. He released her and stumbled backwards, and as she tried to kick him to the ground, he caught her foot, twisting it until she hit the floor. He knelt down, pulling her by the back of the hair.

"He will never have you…You belong to me, you always have. This was the pact created between the Vanir and their protectors."

"Is it me you wish for, or Ragnarok?" Yuru grimaced.

"Both." The man answered and stood. He reached down, picking her up. "It is unfortunate that I must come to this…" he pushed her forward, and she tried to resist as he reached forward, releasing the bindings on the dead woman and yanked her from the pod. Her chains were released and she swung back at him, only for him to dodge and strike back with force. Her back hit the pod, and as she slid down he caught her, scooping her up into his arms and placed her gently into the pod.

"Loki…" Yuru cried out as she tried to tug away from her new found bindings.

"The Prince of Asgard?" The man with the silver hair took a step back as he watched Yuru try to break free. A silent humming sound emitted from the machine and lightning sparked from around her. He took a step forward, pulling a dagger from his belt. He ran it over her suit, the blade slicing into her skin, he continued to do this over and over, "Look, and show me what you see, Yuru!"

The blade burned deep into her body, the coppery taste within her mouth was quickly swallowed as she struggled not to cry out. All the while she could only hang on for dear life as she struggled to replay the images of former futures. But something else was forcing her to give in, to relinquish her thoughts. She couldn't tell if it was the physical pain being inflicted upon her, or the machine working like it was supposed to. Her torturer drove the dagger down into her side and she arched her back, crying out. When he pulled it from her, he let out a satisfied grunt.

"You see, that was not so hard…" he laid a hand on her face as she looked up into the red light of the ceiling. He leaned down, hearing her whisper under her breath. "Your resistance is futile… I have more than one way to get what I want, Yuru. Perhaps if I were to bring Loki here and make him witness to your pain then maybe that will change your mind?" He leaned in closer, "Or perhaps I will force him to watch me go where no man has gone before?" He listened and then waited for a response. When nothing came to he stood up straight, noticing a single tear having fallen out of the right side of her eye. The wall to the left of him began displaying images.

The images were that of her memories, mixed in with the time that was yet to happen. There were images of Asgard, Earth, The Avengers, and people walking down the sidewalk in a large city. The silver haired man smiled to himself as he stepped away from her to sit down and watch the display of images projected from her.

In the cell Loki continued to try and break free. His wrists hurt, his heart was heavy as he recognized the scream that echoed through the halls and leaked into the cell. It drove him mad, imagining the sort of things they were probably doing to her in order to get what they wanted. It drove him mad that he put her in that sort of position. "Boy…Djnn…" Loki corrected himself. "What is it that you see?"

Djnn shivered against the wall, "That man is hurting her…" Djnn whispered.

"It is no man…"

"No…" Djnn replied. "There is another man… he was sworn to protect us. He is a traitor. He was the one who lead the Chitauri to us, and took my people away, tortured, forced them to see beyond their means, and they died…"

Loki furrowed his brows as he looked upon the young Vanir. "Not The Other?" He asked.

"Fenrir…the one who had been exiled long ago."


	18. Breaks Your Knees

**Chasing Ragnarok**

_Breaks Your Knees_

By: Anencephaly

"So… our enemies have taken the upper hand on us…" Odin paced anxiously across the deck.

"We may have lost them… but they can't go far. Our satellites are tracing the energy signature right now." Fury tried to reassure the old man.

"They would not leave Earth anyway." Odin looked towards the director. "They are under the assumption that the final piece is here."

"Excuse me?" Fury cocked his one brow as Odin looked at him. "You mean to tell me that it's not here?"

"We are also under that assumption." Odin replied. "Yuru's abilities have been tampered with. Why they had led her to Midgard, I know not why."

Fury huffed, "You Asgardian's are really starting to become a pain in the butt with your world ending devices… and we humans were said to be condemnable? Pft, it seems like we are all placed at the foot of the blame."

"They are relics, even before my time…" Odin replied heavily. "Thor… how much has she been looking into the future?"

Thor kept his arms crossed; he looked as if he didn't want to say anything. "More than she should, Father." He replied quietly. At once Odin slammed his fist down, denting the table slightly. Before Fury could say anything, Thor spoke up again. "Father, she may be using Loki to aid her…"

"I should have never listened to you or her… he's failed the task in which I have given him-"

"Father, believe me when I say he would not willingly let her fall into the wrong hands."

"We've got a signal! We can intercept. But it will take some time." A woman shouted from the front of the deck.

"We'll need something faster than that…" Fury said as he looked up at the screens. "Prepare the birds…tell Stark and the Doc to suit up…we're going to crash it."

"With Loki and Yuru on board, sir?" Steve asked.

Fury placed his hands on his hips as he looked towards Captain America, "It still seems you haven't fully grasped the concept of these people being almost demi-gods… Besides, we'll get them out." Fury nodded his head.

"Is it working?" Djnn watched as Loki froze over the shackles at his wrists. He squeezed the chain, and it budged only by a bit. "Wait…" Djnn stopped, staring off into the distance. "Break it, break it!"

At once Loki shattered the ice, and kicked the shards into the shadows. None too soon the door hissed open and instead of The Other appearing through the door, that man that handled Yuru stepped through. Djnn hugged the wall as he looked towards the boy with a cruel smile. "You need not worry, dear child. Your Seeress is safe."

Fenrir then turned to Loki, kneeling down. "Look at you…" He studied Loki carefully. "Bound in chains…you are unworthy of the privilege she has given you."

"And what might that be?" Loki looked back.

Fenrir looked at him curiously, "You are a foolish man, Loki of Asgard, and undeserving of her. Nevertheless I will take back what is mine… even if I have to do it by force."

Loki calmly leaned forward, looking into the cold eyes of his new enemy. "If you touch her again… I'll do more than just rip your throat out…"

Fenrir stood up straighter now as he looked down at him, threatening him with his eyes. Loki simply smiled, sadistically as he thought about the pain he would inflict upon this man that thought he could own Yuru. She was his, he knew that much by now and Fenrir had only confirmed the secret she was hiding, just like his.

Fenrir thrust forward, grabbing the god of mischief by his collar and pulling him up off of his feet. "I will be sure to bury you, Loki."

"You're welcome to try..." Loki smiled even wider.

Before Fenrir could say anymore the ground shook beneath them, tossing them back and forth. Something had hit the ship, something Loki recognized as The Avengers. Fenrir pushed Loki back into the wall, "You will not die here today, I shall meet you on the battlefield."

"Yuru..." Loki struggled against his chains.

He noticed that the boy was looking up towards the ceiling, Loki looked up as well, furrowing his brows and in one loud crash, debris came falling from the roof and through the new hole in the ceiling Thor dropped down. "Brother!" Thor shouted.

"Quickly, the boy too, he can lead us to her." Loki brandished his chains and with a couple of bangs the two were broken free. Djnn jumped up racing towards the door.

"They have shut it!" he slapped the door angrily.

"Move aside." Thor readied his hammer and swung, the metal dented and he swung again with such ferocity a hole blew through, Djinn wasted no time climbing through, followed by Loki and Thor. "Have we come too late?!" Thor shouted as they ran.

"I fear so..." Loki replied. He skidded to a halt just as Djinn had stopped, he hesitated for a moment until Loki called out to him.

"He is in there!"

"See to it that Yuru is taken from this place, brother." Loki said darkly.

Thor understood, "You come back to us brother, do not go searching for trouble... Yuru needs you."

Loki stopped, looking back at Thor. "I don't intend to leave her side...I intend on revenge for her sake."

Thor looked at his brother intently, he worried for him but at the same time felt humbled by this chivalrous side that had been born from chaos. He watched as Loki strode forward, the first through the door. There was an explosion from the other side of the ship signaling that The Avengers were making progress in crashing the ship.

"Go, young seer... show our allies the location of your people." Thor looked down at Djinn who hesitated on following Loki.

He looked back up at Thor, eyes glossed over. "Thank you..." he weakly said.

Thor forced a smile for the boy, "No need to cry. Now hurry... there is not much time." He watched as the boy smiled back, and rushed down the hall they had come from. Thor tossed his hammer up, and caught it as he stepped through the door. Inside he found Loki, facing off against Fenrir. Though he had never seen the man before he felt as if he recognized him. Loki kept up with every move, his anger fueling his drive for battle against other former captors. Thor didn't have time to praise his brother, for his eyes set down upon the pod in the center of the room. He raised a hand up to his ear pressing his finger into the drum, "I have got both of them... just fifteen more minutes."

"Good its all we got before Banner starts crashing the ship down...hurry." Captain America replied back.

As Loki fought on against the silver haired assailant, Thor rushed forward to the pod. He used his hands to rip the top off with ease and stopped just as soon as he could see Yuru inside.

"Burning... its all burning... n-no...drifting strands...the wolf will devour the star... so many..." her voice trailed off.

Thor dropped his hammer, a loud bang crashing out as he looked upon Yuru. She was bruised and beaten, her wounds left open and the smell of blood surrounded her. Thor could feel the burning sensation well up at the back of his eyes as he slowly reached forward careful not to touch her too soon, "Yuru..." he whispered. Touching the side of her face, he pulled back quickly her flesh burning to the touch.

The sound of Thor's hammer hitting the floor halted the battle, Fenrir pushed Loki down and took a few steps back, "Enjoy your time together while it lasts." Fenrir took one last step back, his body disappearing into a black mist leaving Loki to wonder exactly who this man was and how he was tied to the Vanir. He stood quickly, pushing these thoughts aside and wheeled around to see Thor a standing over the pod with such a distraught face. Suddenly, Loki feared what he would find as he came closer. His feet moved from under him and he walked forward despite the explosions and the cries of dying Chitauri from down the halls.

"Brother... I..." Thor tried taking a step closer to halt him. Loki pushed him aside, laying eyes upon the battered Seeress. His mind unplugged, his heart exploded and he thought of only ho he wanted to do the most vile of things to Fenrir.

"We need to release her..." Loki said oddly calmly.

He could hear his brother pick up Mjormir and quickly break the chains free. The pods chains broke, and Yuru was released from her prison. Loki reached forward only for Thor to stop him, "Her flesh is as hot as steel..."

"All the more reason why I should be the one to take her from this place..." Loki continued forward, laying his hand across her, his blue frost giants flesh exposed as he pulled her down from the pod and onto the floor. "Yuru." Loki called out to her, hoping for a response. "Yuru..." he whispered once more, raising her head up, careful not to agitate her wounds. She whispered something once more and then slowly moved her tired eyes to look up at him.

She smiled weakly upon seeing his face, "Lo...ki..." the attempt to sound happy was weakened by her appearance, she reached up slowly touching one side of his face. "Do not cry..."

"I'm sorry..." Loki leaned forward embracing the feeling of her hand against his face. "I wished for none of this..."

Her eyes lingered on his for a moment or two, and then she exhaled slightly, "To save the future...traces of the past must be erased..."

"Loki, we must leave." Thor ushered him. Her hand fell limply leaving a smudge of her blood clean across his cheek. He watched as she lost consciousness and quickly scooped her up. They wasted no time in leaving the place of torture, where Banner regrouped with them in his giants form. He huffed angrily at Yuru's condition and was quickly calmed by Thor's stern scolding. He reached around Loki who eyed the creature carefully and then finally accepted that this was the only way they were getting out. The Hulk picked Loki up who held Yuru close, keeping her body cool with his own. They busted through the roof, shooting into the sky higher than the Chitauri ship. Loki looked down as the sun blinded his sight, the ship exploded at one end and began to dip down in the sky over vast sand dunes.

It wasn't satisfying enough to see it fall fast to the earth, but the disappointment was soon replaced with fear as they began to fall fast to the Earth themselves. "I hope you have got a plan!" He shouted to Banner as he clutched tighter to Yuru.

The giant made some sort of noise, he couldn't make out what it was, his concentration split as the ground became closer and closer and then finally the speed halted greatly. Loki opened his eyes, looking up towards Banner to see Stark higher above them holding onto ropes attached around Banner. Stark looked down, "Personally, I would have loved to see what would happen if you fell from that height, but Banner insisted he would take care of you too...Thanks is necessary..."

Loki looked away from the arrogant iron soldier and towards Banner who kept his eyes to the sky. When he finally looked towards Loki, he could see a sort of sadness in his eyes, something that reflected how he felt. Silently he nodded his head in thanks, in which Banner nodded back with a low grunt.


	19. Despair

Chasing Ragnarok

Despair

By: Anencephaly

The All-father stood over Yuru, surveying the damage that Fenrir had done. Her wounds were clensed and dressed and it was fortunate that her consciousness was buried deep beneath what pain held her there. He leaned over, touching the bandage of the largest wound inflicted upon her and blood seeped a little through the matte cloth covering it. His silence was unbearable to Loki, to Banner, to everyone as they waited for an answer on how Yuru was faring. Thor looked down upon Loki who still wore her blood across his face and had not left her side since he had brought her back to SHIELDs helicarrier. Thor couldn't stand the anxious look on his face, the hurt in his eyes as he kept them on her. "Father..." Thor said, breaking away from the wall and taking the attention. "What is your word?"

Odin turned to look gravely at his son, and then looked back at Yuru who lay in fresh bandages. "She needs to return to Asgard... I fear that if she is not treated properly soon..." his voice trailed off and he didn't have to say much more. Thor understood all to well and he knew Loki had speculated the outcome long ago. "Son," Odin turned to look at Loki, "Are you absolutely sure that The Other was not alone?"

The god of mischief raised his head... "Even the Vanir child confirms his identity...who is he?"

"Someone who should not be living..." Odin answered. "Before war broke out, the Vanir were guarded by a group of hand picked warriors, some of Asgard and many other realms. It was Fenrir that had been next in line to safeguard the new Seeress to be born, he had asked Freja for Yuru's hand in marriage in order to bind himself to the Vanir."

"So he's a cradle robber?" Stark butted in.

The All-Father ignored Stark however, and continued with the story. "Freja refused, she wanted Yuru to choose her own path and as a result he had lost the privilege to become Yuru's guardian...Heimdall had replaced him and Fenrir had disappeared not too long after that." Odin stepped away from Yuru's bedside. "Sometime after Yuru's birth there had been small tribes that had tried to win Freja over to unite the Vanir with their own tribes using Yuru."

"The Frost Giants..." Loki said darkly.

Odin stopped to nod to his son's epiphany, "Among those would be suitors to be was Laufey...but despite his attempts Freja still respectfully declined." Both Thor and Loki understood all too well what would take place next, where the Jotun's would begin waging war on the nine realms. "Before Freja's death she had said that the Frost Giants actions were not conjured alone, she had guessed that Fenrir had been behind all of it, but had found a way to block her sight. Then war came... many Vanir were slaughtered...by the time I arrived there was only one, a little girl, Yuru." He looked back at Yuru, his one eye glazing over. "I took her back to Asgard in secret, and fought against the Frost Giants. I had slain Fenrir just before the final battle, I remember that he had demanded Yuru's return."

"It seems as if he has been planning this even before Yuru's birth... he has just failed each and every time." Loki stood.

"And he will fail again." Thor chided.

"The machine is finished, if we can just find out exactly what"

"No." Loki interrupted sternly.

"So you want us in the dark while Fern plots to destroy all of us?" Stark continued the argument.

"She has had enough. Do you not see? You humans think us to be immortal, look here you pompous fool, your proof lies before you clinging to her life. Her gifts are just this very curse and you want her to suffer more?" Loki stood closer to her now.

"Brother!" Thor tried to calm him.

Stark narrowed his eyes, pursing his lips as he looked at Loki. "Look," he began calmly. "You came to us for assistance against this enemy."

"Against my better wishes." Loki corrected him.

"Despite that," Stark was not finished. "You should be well aware by now that Yuru decided to use her gifts, come what may, she sees a path that we can take and she wanted to show us the way. We all have grown to care for her... for what brief moment we have to see what she sees, we should take before it all comes crashing down."

Loki knew Stark was right, but he didn't want to see Yuru like that again, or to watch her life be extinguished to save him or anyone else. "Brother," Thor said more calmly as he placed a hand gently on Loki's shoulder. Loki looked at him, almost a little afraid. "We know you care for her deeply...but it is what Yuru had wanted all along...please..."

He looked at Thor intently and then towards Stark, "You are responsible for her life...take care of her as she has taken care of you."

Stark nodded, holding out his hand and watched as Loki took it, he gripped it tightly, "She's not going anywhere..." Stark turned to look at Banner, "Are you ready?"

Banner remained seated, slowly nodding his head. It didn't take long for everyone to start moving to get the procedure done faster.

As Stark and Banner went to pull Yuru up they stopped, "Why is she still burning up?" Stark asked.

"Possible side effects of energy gain and little loss... the Chitauri probably used it to make them weak and easier to control." Banner replied.

"Allow me." Loki pushed through with extended blue hands.

"You should probably have that looked at...that's not normal." Stark teased.

Loki pursed his lips, ignoring Stark's unnecessary humor. He reached down scooping her up carefully, not a sound had come from her, indicating that her consciousness was still lost under the threshold of pain. He apologized to her within his thoughts as Stark lead them to the second lab and he laid her carefully down in the machine built for her. He helped them lift her head as they placed the visor over her eyes just as before.

"How are the vitals?" Stark asked as he began to plug information into the computer.

Banner arched a brow, "Besides being unable to tell what's good and what's bad, it looks good... I guess?"

"She will be fine for now, proceed." Odin entered and stood between Thor and Loki.

A humming sound was soon heard throughout the room, indicating that the generators were now supplying the energy for the machine. Stark tossed a large screen into the air which produced static. "More." Banner said as he looked intently into his own screen, "The wavelengths are there." Stark listened as he looked down at Yuru whose chest jerked up and she let out a gasp, her eyes briefly opening and then she quickly fell back into her state of unconsciousness.

Stark's eyes were now upon the screen, in which everyone else began to look at. The images displayed weren't crystal clear, but what they did display was something that was so foreign and produced mixed feelings of deja-vu. There they were on the screen, only moments ahead of themselves. Banner reached over to pick up a pen on screen and they watched moments later as the Banner of the present did exactly the same thing.

"So this is what it looks like..." Stark said in awe.

The images began to blur and mix together forming new ones of a young Yuru, Loki and Thor. Banner arched a brow and looked towards Stark for his opinion on what they were seeing. "She's dreaming." Odin said as he watched, "Dreaming of the past... Seeresses are tellers of time." He looked down at Yuru who laid their almost peacefully, "Yuru, show us the future that now clouds your mind."

Yuru twitched slightly, and Odin's command was obeyed as the images slipped into darkness. "He will cast darkness upon the Yggdrasil, I have failed..." Yuru spoke but did not open her eyes.

"No...Yuru, it has not ended yet, you must not give in. Show us, show us what keeps Ragnarok coming."

The screen showed them blurred visions of Fenrir approaching an alter only to find it bare. He punched into adjacent pillar, sending it crashing down.

"It is not there?" Loki asked.

"It too has moved beyond my sight." Yuru answered.

"It looks like Mayan ruins..." Fury suggested, "They were one of the first places we checked while Banner and Stark continued to build the machine...if it is not here, where else could it be?"

Yuru twitched slightly again, and made a sound of pain as the screen showed her, The Avengers and many others fighting against The Chitauri, the image flashed and Yuru stood looking towards the sky as if something were coming. When she looked back down Loki stood before her, he appeared as if he had been fighting just as hard.

Loki watched intently, wondering what the intended future was.

When he neared in the vision he smiled to her without a word and she stepped forward. In an instant he brandished a spear planting it into her lower chest, and straight through Loki's own heart. How was this possible? Why would he? How could he? He watched as Yuru fell quickly, and his future self laughing maniacally. Eyes were upon him as if he was already being convicted of the crime. "I couldn't..." Loki choked.

Before he could finish his sentence Yuru cried out, pulling the attention away from Loki. Her vitals were being red lined with warning signs. On the screen Yuru was being shown over and over again dying numerous ways, by Fenrir, by killing herself, by Loki. Visions Odin being killed by Fenrir, and of her being trapped by him while he slowly tortured and killed everyone. Horrific images of Loki being tortured by the Chitauri, all of it was chaos that scorched their minds which made Loki wonder if the future he saw had become a prophecy.

"Get her out of there!" Odin shouted as no one realized what was happening. Loki wasted no time in getting to her side, pulling the head unit off of her and dragging her out of the machines chair and fell to the floor with her.

He turned her over in his arms, heat emanating from her body even more so than before. Her eyes were barely open as she squirmed within his arms. They were not her eyes...they were permanently lost in that void that showed her horrible things. "Yuru?" He helplessly tried to call her back despite knowing the truth of the matter. She let out a quiet cry and closed her eyes tightly, losing herself once more in the pain. He lifted his hand carefully, observing her fresh blood coating the palm of his hand. "We need to go back to Asgard now." Loki looked up at Odin who was already at their side. He nodded quickly, "We leave, now... not another moment to spare."

"And what about Fenrir?!" Natasha strode forward.

"The Warriors Three and Sif will remain... but I do not think Fenrir will remain in this realm for long after learning that both Yuru and the last piece of Ragnarok is no longer here." Odin was sure of this, "They can return to Asgard if need be."

"That is not enough assurance... what if the future changes? What if he decides its time to go nuts and destroy part of the planet?" Banner too seemed to be concerned.

"I don't see a problem..." Fury casually interrupted them. "You get that girl better, and then come back...you hear me? Our world is still in danger, we will keep an eye on him."

Thor nodded, "Father...Brother..."

Loki was already standing with Yuru in his arms. Odin had told him to keep a firm grasp on her, but he didn't have to warn him. He held her as close as possible, listening only to the sound of her life slipping away with each breath. The wormhole swallowed them up quickly, and the ship disappeared from sight.


	20. Exposed Secrets

Chasing Ragnarok  
Exposed Secrets  
By: Anencephaly

The damage had become worse, even the healers of Asgard feared that their magic was not strong enough to treat the wounds Fenrir had inflicted upon Yuru. The wounds were not aimed to kill, but the machine had pushed her life further to the edge. He looked down upon her face as he carried her slowly to the edge of a white stone lined marble pool, all the while remembering when he had returned to Asgard as a prisoner and seeing her for the first time she had walked down the steps of the Dias. He had never thought about how he would be carrying her into one of Asgard's finest healing pools. It was their last resort for saving her.

He stepped in, and continued to walk towards the center as the temperature of the water shifted to that of ice. He was ordered to change the water, to help cool her body down. Loki stopped at the center of the pool, a stone bed angled and curved stood. He set her down in it, and reached up with one hand laying his hand gently against one side of her face. He traced her brow line and touched her cheekbones with the tips of his fingertips. He imagined her like this, but lying next to him in a peaceful slumber. He couldn't erase the images of her wounds out of his mind; he couldn't forget what he had seen. Loki was even afraid to sleep, for dreaming about what Fenrir had done to her.

When Loki's fingertips reached her lips he stopped. His chest swelled, as he touched them. Had Fenrir stolen a taste of her lips? No, they weren't bruised, or torn, but he still couldn't help but wonder. He lowered his hand and remained there a few moments more, wishing silently for Yuru to open her eyes. He could hear his father calling him back in the background, and reluctantly he left her side. He kept telling himself that this was his entire fault, that he could have kept her safer. Why did she go off without him? Why wouldn't she accept his help? He mulled these things over as he cleaned himself rigorously, washing her blood from his body. He stopped for a moment, thinking about the vision she had shown them. He imagined the spear in his hand, and forcing it in her direction. Was that the future that Yuru had tried to avoid? He finished cleaning himself, and quickly dried and changed his clothes. His mind still continued on, even as he lay in bed looking up at the high ceilings in the dim light. Ragnarok, where was the last piece? How long would this continue? How long would Yuru have to suffer?

Loki turned over, his mind venturing onto things he didn't want to think about. He imagined how Yuru's torture might have gone, and how she would have refused to give any of them the satisfaction they sought through her screams. But he knew, even if she had made a sound in the very beginning they would have only come back for more, and more. His anger boiled, as he thought about what Fenrir had said to him. The words glued to his mind, "_You are a foolish man, Loki of Asgard, and undeserving of her. Nevertheless I will take back what is mine...even if I have to do it by force._" He was going to kill him, and he fed his anger with thoughts on how he would do it. It wasn't too long before he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the things he thought of and sometimes waking every few hours. There were other dreams too, dreams like the ones before where he believed Yuru was inadvertently showing him hers. He could feel her pain, particularly where her would was centered and another towards her spine on her upper back. He took the pain into himself however, swallowing it up for her so that it might ease her mind and body. "Just wake up... please." he would whisper to her in those dreams, and would leave her in her loneliness.

The Asgard days drew on slowly, as he had forgotten what this realm's time frame was like after spending so much time on Midgard. Still, each time he would rise and fall back to sleep he would only be able to meet her in his dreams, she spoke to him a few times. Though seemingly unaware of his presence, but this is what he found solace in, and nothing else. Thor would look at him with despair, as he passed through the halls on his way towards the healing chamber where Yuru slept in the ice cold pool. There were times where Thor would sit with him, and not say a word as they looked towards the center of the pool wishing desperately for her to rise, and to lighten the mood sometimes Thor would actually begin to recall when they were children, and actually manager to get Loki to smirk a few times. On the sixth day he slept within that chamber, dreaming more vividly than before.

"Yuru..." he called out to her in the dream.

She looked up at him, eyes still lost but there. "Loki..." she replied to his astonishment.

The darkness faded from the dream, revealing a world that looked like combinations of Asgard and the other realms, only torn up and mangled, drifting endlessly through the space in between. "Where are we?" He asked.

Yuru knit her brows as she looked away from his eyes and towards the ruins. "I do not know." she admitted quietly. "But here, beyond this point there is no more time to be seen. This world never changes, and continues to exist even as I access this point in time."

Loki understood what she was saying, and how she understood it to be the end of everything. He looked down at her again, "Are you alright?"

She lowered her eyes this time, "I think so...there was so much darkness for such a long time. I would feel pain on and off, and it's been cold for a while." She looked back up at him, finding the pain in his own eyes.

"Yuru, I'm..." he was interrupted as he could hear shouting in the background. Darkness returned and light overtook it as he opened his eyes to see one of the medics standing over him.

"Prince Loki..." she ushered him, "Wake fast my lord. It is Lady Yuru."

"What?" he stood up quickly, his eyes darting towards the center of the pool. Yuru was sitting up, holding herself shaking and crying.

On the ground a team of medics dragged another medic back who had been struck by ice. "She's using the ice you created to defend herself. She's under the impression she's still threatened, we cannot get anywhere near her." The woman was panicking.

Loki took a step forward, and stopped to see at the corner of his eye his father had entered the room, followed closely by Thor. He looked back towards Yuru, and strode forward despite his father calling out to him. He took one step into the pool, turning the surface quickly into thick ice that could not be manipulated by her. His magic was over powering hers with each step, but he still left a little room for her as to not scare her completely. When he reached down he knelt quickly, pulling her up from what little of the pool he had left around the stone chair. "Yuru." he held her away from the ice and strode across the surface quickly. She opened her eyes, tears flooding them as she looked up at him.

"It's cold." she told him again, just like she had in the dream.

He quickly set her down, the healers surrounding her and pushing him aside, his father joining him. "She could have killed you."

Loki knew, but he also knew that he left nothing to chance at this point. "I care not." he answered stubbornly. Odin looked over at him, "I see that we will need to speak soon..." He looked over at the healers. "See to it that her health is restored." He looked at Thor, "I will summon the three of you when it is time." and turned, leaving.

Thor was quick to step over to him, taking his brother by the shoulder. "Father is furious." Thor whispered.

Looking away from Yuru, Loki looked back at his brother. "I could care less, Thor."

"Whatever happened for the Chitauri to take possession of Yuru, the truth needs to come out. All of, even ones you will not speak of for her sake." Thor ushered him.

Loki looked away, the only thing that mattered to him now was that Yuru was alive. They had moved her back to the private chambers that were granted to her from the very beginning, he had learned from the healers that her health was gradually increasing and that he would be able to see her soon. He had many questions for her, and hopefully she had the answers for him. "May I see her yet?" He asked the healer.

The healer looked disgruntled as she shifted her weight onto one leg. "Lady Yuru has said she will see no one. Not even you, my lord. I beg your forgiveness." she bowed lowly.

"Why?" Loki asked bitterly.

"I know not... her health has improved greatly, and has even begun to walk. Yet still she wishes to see no one."

Loki couldn't understand why, instead he held up a single flower that looked much like a lily but with many more petals. "Give this to her for me..."

The woman hesitated in taking the flower from his hand. He realized that this would undoubtedly become the new sort of gossip of Asgard where Prince Loki gives a flower to the woman he has been made to protect. When the woman bowed, he turned quickly, striding off to find himself a place where eyes would no longer watch him. Where he could sulk over why she didn't want to see anyone. He guessed that she was afraid of something, bringing him back to the time on SHIELD's ship where Thor had foolishly tilted it. She looked frightened there, and he had believed it was because of Thor, but now he had other ideas of what it was really about, and he couldn't determine if his suspicions were true or not without confronting her.

The time came where Odin had summoned all of them to a private room; Yuru was the last to enter. She still looked weak, but maintained a sturdy composure. Odin eyed her carefully, "You are well now?" he asked, almost unconvinced.

"Yes, All-Father." Yuru bowed lowly but struggled towards the end. She looked away quickly as she helped herself up.

All-Father kept his eye on her, as he thought about where to begin. "Perhaps none of this were to happen if I listened to you and Thor."

"Father?" Thor sounded surprised.

Loki moved his eyes from Yuru who kept her eyes to the ground.

"Our only saving grace was violated...how much did he see?" Odin wanted answers.

Yuru looked up at him, trying to control the anxiety in her chest. "The visions were taken from me." Yuru said shakily as she recalled her experience. "I showed him... I showed him what I had seen before I saw him."

"Before?" Odin arched a brow.

The Seeress nodded, "There were more, but too many, I've tried to recall them...but..." Yuru stopped there, and they all understood that with those new visions were attached experiences that she dare not repeat.

"You were supposed to protect her..." Odin turned his gaze upon Loki. "The task I had given you was to ensure her safety and you have even failed at that!" Odin's voice boomed.

"It was not his fault!" Yuru shouted back, getting a surprised glance from the three of them. "I left his side on purpose." Yuru took a step forward. "The Chitauri were coming for me, and Loki would have faced death-"

"For too many times I have warned you Yuru about gazing into the future so much, you have recklessly put yourself and others in danger!" Odin turned his anger upon her now, and she lowered her head.

Her lips parted and she looked up at Loki, "I hope that you forgive me, my Lord." Yuru bowed to him respectfully.

Loki didn't want her to apologize to him; he reached down and helped her to stand without a word. All the while she refused to look him directly in the eye and could feel her shudder beneath his touch. She was seeing something. Was it him, killing her?

Odin was taken aback by the display between the two. He noted how Loki looked at her, and how she had rose to defend him quickly. He connected the two and then looked at Thor who had looked back at him. "You two are dismissed..." Odin said to them. "Loki, you will resume protecting Yuru as before... but do not fail again."

"All-Father..." Yuru looked up at him. "I do not think it is best-"

"I have spoken." Odin firmly said without raising his voice.

Yuru nodded, turning to leave the room. Loki hesitated to follow, and looked back at his father who nodded his head and Loki strode after her, the doors closing firmly behind him.

"For how long has this been going on?" Odin looked at Thor now.

Thor looked back up at him again, "Since I had first met him on Earth...Father... he has always been taken with her, even when we were children," Thor crossed his arms, "I know not of Yuru's intentions though..."

Odin looked at the door where they had left, he knew all too well that she was trying to hide herself from him, just as he was for her. But Loki's patience was wearing thin, especially after what had happened. Odin knew this, and for some reason felt satisfied with this recent knowledge.

Yuru however had other plans as she tried to keep a faster pace than that of Loki. She was hurting, despite her recent recovery and refused to slow down or stop for him even as he called out to her. "Yuru!" He urged her to stop. "I will make them pay for what they have done!" Loki followed her down the steps.

She stopped now just before the end of the steps, and he stopped in his tracks just a few stairs behind her. She turned sharply, her brows knit that molded into anger almost, "You..." she said trying to keep her tone in check. "You, will make them pay?" She took a step up closer to him. He could see the fury behind her eyes; he could feel the fire from her soul. "Only for the next threat to come?" Yuru took one more step, "Then what about after that? How long would you stand at my side while the world knows of my existence? How long would you endure those threatening my life?"

Loki took one step down to her, towering over her. "Until all of their lives extinguished by my hand and when death parts us until we reach Valhalla..." Loki said in a hushed yet stern voice. It broke her defenses as she backed down onto the step below the one she stood on. She looked away from him quickly, raising her hand up as if it would keep the distance between the two. She then continued down the steps without another word, nearly stumbling on the last one. Loki reached down pulling her up by one of her arms, and she quickly pulled away and closed her eyes tightly. The visions? "Do you keep on seeing that future...where I pierce you through the heart, extinguishing your life?" Loki tried not to get angry with her. Yuru remained silent as she looked towards the floor. He knew the answer already, and it drove him mad. He couldn't bare her silence. "TELL ME!" He demanded.

Yuru looked up quickly, her eyes glazed over and it made him feel guilty about forcing her to give him an answer, but he had to hear her say it. She took in a slight breath, "The future has changed many times since we have begun this journey. Yet, still my fate remains unchanged, and in the constant that my death is for certain." Yuru lowered her eyes once more. "Beyond that I cannot see...I cannot see the battle anymore that takes place, I do not know which side will win. My end will come, and there is no escaping it."

"So you intend to die?" Loki furrowed his brows. "How hypocritical of you, fighting to save life yet you don't even value your own!"

Yuru lowered her eyes, "There is no point for me to continue on." she whispered.

"Don't!" he raised up his index finger, anger was spread evenly across his face as he stepped forward grabbing her by the shoulder and pinning her against the wall, "Don't you dare say you have no choice in the matter, Yuru! All I can see when I look at you is a walking contradiction of herself. What were your words?! Teach me the value of life?! Now here you stand ready to accept a fate that hasn't even been etched in stone yet."

"Loki-" she tried to push him back with the palm of her hand. He grabbed her wrist, pulling it away.

"I can't even look at you without feeling hate right now as you've led me to believe you were stronger than this!"

"Please...stop...Let me go, I don't want-" she tried to pull away from him just as before down in the cave of Jotunheim. He held her there however as some unexplainable thought had entered his mind.

"It's not your death that you're seeing..." Loki quietly said. She looked up at him, fear in her eyes that confirmed his suspicions. She had feelings for him, just as he had for her, and for a brief moment he felt slightly relieved that her discomfort was from that fear. The sound of a door opening from down the hall alerted him. He kept a firm grip on her wrist as he pulled her from the wall and down the hall, his quarters not too far. Loki turned into a dark hall as she tried to free herself from his grasp; he planted her back firmly against the wall. Yuru looked up at him with an innocent fear in her eyes as if she did and did not know what would happen next. He could hear her whispering to stop his actions, begging him to not go any further than this and to release her. Loki ran a hand down her small frame to the small of her waist, ignoring her plea. He pulled her close while still keeping her pinned against the wall and captured her lips with his own, silencing her. Satisfaction poured into his tired body, victory filled his mind with ambition. She had tried to push him away, but Loki was persistent and unwilling to let her go at this point. When he felt her relax finally, he held her there still. "Do you fear me, Yuru?" Loki whispered. "Answer me; honestly...do not hide what you see."

Yuru shuddered as before. "Yes...and no..." she admitted. "It is cruel to have only a taste of something you want, and for it to be taken from you in the very instant," she couldn't look at him, and he understood why. She didn't have to see the future to know what else he wanted from her. Loki pulled her back from the wall, and looked down at her.

He lifted her chin up, "I do not intend to hurt you, Yuru." He said quietly, leaning in and resting the side of his face against hers so that he could whisper into her ear. "But you are mine, and as such I will not allow you to leave my side again, nor will I let another man to take you from me, or allow him to touch you." He pulled away looking down at her, this time he took her hand gently and she willingly followed him to his quarters with minimal hesitation.

The decision was made quick as he closed the door quietly behind him; he grabbed her from behind and held her close to him as he used one hand to explore her body. She let out a quiet whimper as he grazed a little roughly with his hand over the major wound inflicted upon her. Loki undid the hooks of her dress and it dropped in a pool around her feet, he turned her to face him and looked upon her with desire. He had seen beneath her clothing before, but never took the time to fully appreciate it. The fading scar where she had been stabbed was slightly bruised, making him hesitate as his fingertips trailed lightly over her body. Yuru stepped forward however, raising her arms and hands up and reached out to him. He could tell that a little bit of fear resided in her as their lips connected once more to exchange sweeter embraces. As she tried to help him with his own clothing he reached down with two fingers pressing them in between her legs and meeting resistance. She let out a faint gasp, pulling herself away from him only for him to bring her back and against the wall. He ran his hand down her slender neck, over her shoulder and eased her breathing somewhat. He wanted to warn her about what was coming next, but could find no way to say it without sounding too barbaric. Loki ran both hands down her legs and swiftly pulled them up around his waist. He pushed her against the wall more roughly than he had intended to, tearing through her barrier quickly. Loki listened as she breathed in sharply to stop herself from crying out. The next couple of thrusts offered her no more comfort than before as she bit into her own finger, muffling her cries. It would pass soon, he knew because of the maiden he had taken before Yuru.

He had carried some sort of expertise in the chambers. The maiden in question before Yuru had wanted Loki to take her, and after numerous attempts he finally gave in to the woman's demands and had his way with her, finding that he had no desire to lay with her but only to please himself. Yuru was different however; he was more calculating and careful with her, he paid attention to her subtle demands and focused on her pleasures and discomforts. He delighted in hearing her try to suppress the innocent noises she made. Loki could see that she was ashamed of them, when really it had made his blood run hot as he tried to elicit more silent cries from her. They carried on like this for a while; Loki taking turns with her as he taught her how to take the lead. Towards the end he forced her down roughly, spilling himself inside of her and looked over his work with pleasure. He lay next to her, wrapping the two of them loosely in the light blankets that were pressed against the end of the bed. He put his arms around her, caressing her face with just his fingertips and he could feel her relax in his arms as she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.


	21. The Chosen

Chasing Ragnarok

The Chosen

By: Anencephaly

Loki woke to find his bedside empty. He was alarmed at first, but soon realized that what had taken place only hours ago was no dream, he could still feel Yuru's warmth close by. Looking away from the door, and towards the balcony Loki could see that Yuru was sitting on the ground with a light blanket over her shoulders beneath the darkness of the night sky. The ground was cold and he rose from the bed pulling his own light blanket around his shoulders. When he walked out to her he could see more clearly that she was looking towards the sky. Quietly Loki sat behind her, taking her into his arms. "It is cold out here." he whispered to her.

Yuru mused, raising up a hand and held onto his forearms. "I am sorry." She said with sadness in her voice.

Loki eyes flicked up, "For what?"

"I hesitated many times because I was afraid. I stopped you from following me because I had seen things I dare not speak of. Loki...I had pushed you away many times because I feared what might happen to you." she let out a heavy sigh and he quickly pulled her further back into his chest. He too foolishly believed that, and now he knew that it did not matter anymore. That he didn't have to hold back for her safety now that she was his. He laid his head against hers, wrapping his blanket around the both of them.

"Do you still see it that way?"

Yuru said nothing for a while, "I do not know," her voice was quiet. "It is the calm before the storm. Nothing has changed...nothing has been newly seen."

"Yuru..." Loki called out to her. "What about the vision?"

"Which one?"

He stopped, "Where I kill you..." he whispered. "Do you believe me when I say that I could never-"

"I believe you." Yuru said shakily turning to face him. "But I do not understand it either. Why? I could ask you this question now, but you do not even know the answer to that future yet."

Loki placed a hand against her face, "I won't let you die...I promise you, Yuru. I will not strike you down, nor will I let anyone else do so... I would gladly let Ragnarok come before that day."

Yuru forced a smile, "Do not say that..."

"Then tell me you will not give in again. Give me your word on it." He quietly yet sternly said. Loki watched as her eyes softened, and she nodded making her promise to him. He forgave her, and reached forward taking her by the shoulder straps of her dress and pulling her towards him. She followed his lead, meeting him in the middle where passion met in their exchange of kisses. He pulled her to the floor, laying her flat and pinned her there. Running his fingers down the inside of her arm while looking into her eyes noticing the tiny reflections of color in her eyes even through they remained silver.

Their looked at one another for a moment, his gaze striking a bit of fear into her. She wasn't used to him looking at her that way, desire, hunger, lust. She was sure she would be eaten alive if he was a predator. Shivers went down her spine as he leaned in without a warning, his lips grazing her neck. "Someone is going to have to protect you from me." He whispered into her ear, scooping her up from the floor. She cried out in surprise and held onto him as he carried her off back into the darkness and privacy of the bedroom.

The following day Odin had called upon Loki once more. The All-Father sat there for a moment looking at Loki intently. He couldn't decide if this conversation was going to begin, but he already knew what it was about. After a moment, Loki gave a heavy sigh, ready to leave, but stopped as soon as his father had grown a smile.

"What?" He asked.

His fathers smile grew a little weaker and he shook his head, "Is she alright?"

Loki hesitated as he moved to seat himself again. "She is in need of more rest." he replied, "Fenrir revealing himself has not brought her any new visions...at least she has not yet spoken to me about them."

"What do you mean?" Odin arched his brow.

Loki took a moment to think on what he was about to reveal to his father, was it even possible? "When I dream... I dream of things that don't appear to be dreams. I dream of her, I dream of the past."

"Go on..." his father urged him.

"I think I can see what Yuru sees or maybe some of it...am I going mad?"

Odin shook his head, "No son... You are not going mad."

"Then what is it? I tired of seeing death...her death." Loki sounded a little agitated.

Odin knew exactly what though, and he raised his hand to calm his son, "She has chosen you Loki. You've become more than just a guardian to her now. You now have a bond with her that she may not be completely aware of yet, where you will be able to see instances of her visions. It was something she was meant to do years ago...Loki...what are your intentions for her?"

Loki looked away from his father as he thought about Yuru. He was certain he was going to stay by her side, but where did it leave him in all of this. "Where will Asgard stand if Yuru chooses to re-establish Vanaheim?"

"She has Asgard's support, I have taken care of her nearly all of her life as a promise to her mother and I would not abandon her anytime soon. Considering now that you hold ties to her."

Loki sat up straight, "Then why not make it permanent?" He looked at his father and Odin looked back, his brows furrowed slightly as he thought about Loki's proposal to tie Yuru forever to Asgard. It would ensure the safety of her and her people. "If...I am still considered a member of your family." Loki added quietly.

Odin cleared his throat, "Of course, Yuru would have to agree to it...but you are sure?"

Loki smirked as he stood up, "Father, if there is one thing you have learned about me its that I will do anything to get what I want." Odin could only hope that it wouldn't come at a price.


	22. The Truth

**Chasing Ragnarok**  
_The Truth_  
_By:_ _Anencephaly_

The goal was still to find the other half of Ragnarok before Fenrir would, and still Yuru was not blessed with visions of what was to come. The wounds inflicted upon Yuru were meant to cause her mental harm, and Loki knew she dreamed of only those moments with the man who wanted to bring about the end of the world. Loki could tell that she was tired from her restless nights, but still she continued on, trying to remember what she had seen in those forced visions.

"Should we return to Earth?" Thor sat next to Yuru. They had just finished a round of sparring before Odin, Loki and Heimdall had walked in to discuss what would happen next. "Banner may be able to fix the machine."

"We should not take that risk again." Loki replied.

"He is right." Yuru added quietly. "I am healing, but..." she closed her eyes for a moment, "I can still feel the pain, I can still remember everything that he did to me, and Fenrir did not want me to see the future since the very beginning. He's done something to certainly prevent it now." Yuru opened her eyes but kept them averted.

"If Yuru were to have a chosen then perhaps those hidden visions would be able to be seen." Heimdall looked up at Odin. Odin simply looked down, and glanced over at Loki.

"She does." Odin replied.

Yuru looked up quickly, her brows furrowing with confusion. Odin looked back at Loki and at once she realized, her hands went to her mouth silencing herself from gasping too loud. "I.."she got to her knees and lowered her head in a bow towards Loki. "I am so sorry."

"Do not kneel." Loki knelt down next to her and lifted her head by her chin.

"She is apologizing because under normal circumstances there would have been a ceremony to create the link." Heimdall said.

Yuru apologized again, but Loki dismissed her apologies, "I accept this honor, and in return you must do something for me when all of this is finished, is that agreed?" He releases her chin.

Slowly she nodded, wondering what he could possibly want. "Then, it is settled." Heimdall said. "Loki," Heimdall drew the attention of the trickster prince. "To be given this gift is given to only one. You alone will be able to witness the future at her discretion; you alone will provide her with the support she is going to need."

"I understand." Loki reassured him.

"Then I will help you to understand Yuru better." Heimdall handed his sword over to Thor who stood. Loki helped Yuru to rise and Heimdall took her by the hand, stepping her aside. Under normal circumstances, The Seeress would have incredible power. Yuru, since being taken in by Odin has exhibited less than half of that power. Perhaps from the traumatic experiences she has had in her life? Heimdall explained. He had helped raise the young Seeress to the best of his ability since his people were closest to the Vanir.

"We need to know where to go next. Time is short, Yuru... Somewhere subconsciously those visions exist. Loki has spoken to me about his dreams, and they match the visions you have seen in the past." Odin said.

Yuru nodded a little, "Loki," Yuru called out to him. "Please, walk with me?"

He didn't say anything as he took her by the arm, leading her away. They said nothing to one another as they left the others, and returned to his chambers. When the door closed behind him she left his side and stopped in the middle of the room.

"Admirable." Loki said walking slowly up behind her, "That even though you are unlike your predecessors you still try to strive. Such an endearing quality."

Yuru looked at him, "Even despite losing my mother, and losing my people, All-Father made sure that I would learn everything about becoming the Seeress. They always told me that I would have to choose soon, but I did not know, I did not want to. What I did know was that no one should endure the sight of pain. I did not want that for you."

Loki took her hand, "Again, do not make yourself alone. I have had enough of watching you endure it by yourself. I want nothing more than to kill Fenrir; he thinks he can take you. I will make him pay for what he has done." He was closer now, almost over her with that same sort of look in his eyes from a few days ago. She could feel his fingertips caress her chest as he dipped her back in his arms. The way to Fenrir was through Yuru, and as much as he disliked the fact that he would have to use her he knew that there was no choice. "I am going to try something, but I need your trust." He whispered into her ear.

"I trust you Loki." Yuru looked up at him, he remained there for a moment looking into her captivating eyes, wondering if he what he was planning would be of use to them. The look on her face changed from calm to pain as his hand turned blue and began to spread a chill over her chest. Was this what it was like when Fenrir tortured her? Did she struggle in silence as he prodded her for the visions of the future? He wasn't doing this to hurt her he told himself as she gripped onto him tightly. He was doing this to save her. He couldn't bring himself to look at her, instead he kept his eyes forward as she now made her attempt to struggle when she had reached wits end. No, it wasn't enough, not yet.

"Listen to me Yuru." He whispered into her ear now, still unable to look at her. "I will not let him touch you again. When you wake I will be here, I'll be by your side and I promise you I will make him pay for everything he has done to you. The loss of your mother, the Vanir, your torture and what he has done to hinder your sight. I will kill Fenrir in your name that is my promise to you." She went limp in his arms and he turned her over in his arms after releasing her. Where he had laid his hand a black icy spot had formed and he quickly called for the aid of the healers.

They arrived shortly along with his brother and father. "What is the meaning of this?!" Thor looked upon Yuru. Her skin was steadily turning pale, and her lips were fading in color.

"We're able to save her." One of the healers said.

"Not yet..." Loki held her back from them.

"Loki, release her, she's going to die." Odin tried to say calmly.

Loki shook his head, "Trust me, Father." He waited holding her close. "Come on Yuru..." He whispered, "Show it to me."

Odin understood, "Hold off!" He ordered the healers and strode forward to get a closer look, "Loki is of no harm to her. Just wait..."

Moments passed as Loki cradled her in his arms and then finally a piercing sensation entered his mind. He let out a cry and dropped to his knees while still holding Yuru. He was seeing, Yuru was calling to him. Was this what it felt like he wondered?

"Help her." Loki ordered pushing her forward and hit the floor beside her.

He wondered if she was nearing death. Loki wondered if he had killed the Yuru. He wanted to wake before her, he wanted to make sure she woke up. He stood on a vast plain, a valley with deep cracks in the ground. Ahead of him a great city stood, Carved into the Plateau.

He could feel Yuru here, and something drew him closer to the city. Loki walked, and as he walked the environment began to slowly morph into a dying plain that was shrouded in a fine crystalline dust. The city, itself began to crumble and fall into pieces. Only a dilapidated palace and buildings remained standing by the time he arrived at the gates. But where was Yuru? Was this the future? Or the past? He couldn't make heads or tails of it. Finally he shouted her name out into the city and his voice echoed, the only response to his call.

Then through the small streams of light passing through the clouds a misty figure appeared, and he moved closer to get a better look. The woman before him was not Yuru, but her mother.

"Loki." Her voice was the tone of Yuru's when she relayed the future trough her visions. But she appeared to be more confident. "Come closer; let me have a look at you."

He obeyed and walked a couple of steps closer to the transparent woman. Her hair was dark like Yuru's but it held a reddish hint to it. She looked up at Loki, reading him carefully. "Yes... Perfect, just as I had seen."

"You know me?" Loki knew the answer already, but it was still hard to understand or believe.

"I have seen," Freyja answered, "You are Yuru's chosen and I have been waiting for you to come."

"Then is Yuru still alive?" He asked.

Freyja nodded, "The choice to bring her close to death again was a wise one, Loki of Asgard. You have taken the path to save her, just as I have seen many years ago."

"Then, she will be saved?" Loki asked.

Freyja's eyes softened and she looked away, "That still remains to be seen, and there are many futures to take. There are endless roads; one wrong path could change everything." Freyja said.

"I will not let her die." Loki replied. "Is she here right now?"

Freyja shook her head, "No... She is unable to communicate with me as we are communicating now. My voice would never reach her at this point. That is why I had left this message for you."

He understood then, Freyja was speaking to him from the past. "Guide me, Lady Seeress. I do not want to lose her."

Freyja smiled a little, "Your love for her is a strength that will break her free."

"Free from Fenrir?" Loki took another hopeful step forward.

Freyja reached forward, taking him by the hand. "You must return to Vanaheim, inside those walls is where she can be freed, for far too long she has carried the burden of Ragnarok!"

Loki looked at the Elder Seeress his brows furrowed, "What do you mean?" He whispered lowly, looking at her darkly.

Then, Freyja explained that the reason why Yuru struggled to see the future, and why her visions caused her much pain at times and why it had become difficult for Yuru to see the future now. The other half of Ragnarok resided within Yuru.

Loki took a step backwards; his chest feeling like it had rocks on it. "It was the only way." Freyja said frantically, approaching him with her palms out turned pleading to him. "It was the only way to keep her safe, to keep the world safe."

"You have condemned her!" Loki shouted.

"You do not understand!" Freyja waved her hand, "Had he have obtained Ragnarok the world would be his. Yuru would not be free. Look! Look at the life she would have been forced to endure!"

Their surroundings dissipated and Yuru sat alone in a dark room. She was dressed in dark clothes, and her body was bruised. The door opened from the far side of the room and she crawled backwards, the chain on her left ankle jingled together and she tried to pull the one on her right hand farther but the wall held her there.

"Beautiful Goddess of Time, I have returned." Fenrir set the sword Ragnarok down against the wall and took a couple of steps forward into the room. He looked down upon her with hungry eyes.

"Go back from whence you came." Yuru flattened her back against the wall.

Fenrir simply smiled as he approached her, unbuckling his armor and dropping it piece by piece with each heavy step through the room. "I admire your fiery spirit, but must we always do this the hard way?" Yuru turned her head away, closing her eyes tightly. "No need to worry, I will never grow tired of playing this game."

Then it happened so fast, he had pulled out into the center of the room by the chain attached to her ankle, dragging her away from the wall. She kicked at him, and he grabbed her ankles as he lowered himself onto her. He forced her knees apart and pushed her dress up over her hips. He was on top of Yuru and moved around every which way to make it difficult for him. After a moment, he had her pinned completely and she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"STOP!" Loki shouted and at once the image turned to dust.

"Now you see." Freyja turned to Loki. "The only choice I had to save her from that cruel fate. Now, now Fenrir has seen and knows what must be done to obtain Ragnarok as a whole."

Loki shifted his glassy eyes towards Freyja unable to forget what he had just seen, but he understood those visions from before where Yuru died continuously, or appeared to be killed. "By using the other piece of Ragnarok to pull it from her. That was what Ragnarok itself was trying to show her."

Freyja nodded and appeared next to him now, looking up at him. "The act could kill her. Especially if undone outside of Vanaheim where the remainder of my spirit exists, I wish to give what I have left to undo what has been done. He still needs Yuru, she alone would be able to see the future to keep the balance in his favor," Freyja said. Loki pursed his lips together; this was why Fenrir had fled the ship without Yuru. He had plans to keep her alive, he had some sort of new vision for the world planned and Ragnarok had become a tool to reshape the world as he saw fit. Ragnarok had the power to kill gods and Fenrir could claim their power. "Do not speak of any of this to her, the balance of power could tip to that of Ragnarok's favor, and it would destroy her."

Loki swallowed hard, "Did my father know of any of this?"

Freyja shook her head, "I took special care, no one could know. I could not risk anything. Loki, your love for her is strong and I believe that you can save her."

"And what about destroying the sword?" Loki asked.

"Yuru will give a prophecy as soon as she is free from Ragnarok, she will know the way. This is all the time I have left, until we meet again, son of Odin."

The vision faded, and a crystal dust rose up tearing the dream to bits, and when Loki finally woke he could see his brother standing over him. "Loki!" Thor said, his name summoning his father from one corner of the room.

"Is Yuru alright?" Loki winced, the light giving him a headache.

"She rests, what did you see?" Odin asked.

Loki sat up, holding his head. "We need to go to Vanaheim." He said.

Thor knit his brows together, "But Vanaheim is nothing but ruins. What hope do we have there?"

There was the question and Loki looked up to his brother and father, "That is what I had seen. Now, I wish to see Yuru."

Odin nodded without another question and summoned a hand maiden to take Loki to Yuru's quarters. They let him enter and then quickly filed out. Beyond the hanging drapes, he could see a figure sitting alone in the middle of the floor.

When he finally passed the drapes she looked up at him, a sort of happiness in her eyes that brought him slowly to his knees. "Loki..." Yuru tilted her head slightly as she observed the emotionless expression on his face.

"We'll go to Vanaheim," Loki said.

She nodded, "I know. You saw it too? There was something there. I could not make it out."

Loki would have to lie to her, "Nor could I," he said. He reached up touching one side of her face. His eyes drifted down and he slid his hand down her neck to her chest. "I am sorry." He said.

"You do not need to apologize." Yuru quietly said. "It will fade soon..."

Loki leaned forward, pushing her gently to the ground. She looked up at him with confusion in her eyes and he leaned down stealing a kiss from her warm lips. He loosened the robe around her body, and ran his hand down her side. She shuttered beneath his touch, but welcomed it with a quiet moan. He pulled her clothes from her and quickly discarded his own. When he was above her she looked up at him and he looked down at her, their eyes connecting as he pushed into her. Loki held her wrists down as she tried to silence herself. Their fingers entwined and he held her as close as possible throughout the night as he made love to her.

((Hmmnn, wow… it has been a LONG time since I've updated. I just wanted to pop in and say hi, and Happy Holidays! The reason why it took me a while to get this chapter out there was because I wrote it… was very unsatisfied with it, deleted that, rewrote it again and then deleted that until I finally came out with this…and even then I am still unsatisfied with it. How's that for writing? I'll continue on. Much love, and wishing all is well.)


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